The Unrivalled Expert in Human Nature
by beifongfirebender
Summary: Follows Azula after the events of Smoke and Shadow... Essentially a love story, but seasoned with fighting, murder, robbery, piracy, kidnapping, extortion and, of course, light arson. Since, just because we're good together doesn't mean we need to be good, when we're together...
1. Chapter 1

_**Alright, so a while back I wrote this fanfic called While The Parents Are Away, if you haven't read it you can check it out now… Anyway, in it I reconnected an adult Azula with the Gaang as adults and now this is the story of how Azula got to that part from her escape from the mental institution (explained in the comics).**_

 _ **Let's not kid ourselves, it's mostly a love story, even though I prefer writing friendship and family bonds.**_

 _ **The stuff happening in 134 AG is after Azula met up with the Gaang, and the rest are flashbacks. You don't have to know about the previous story, it would spoil some parts anyway.**_

 _ **Credit for the cover image goes to**_ ** _Pidgeapodge_** ** _for designing a certain Pirate Empire's official flag :)_**

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 1**

 **134 AG**

Azula stared at the sea from the ship's deck, thinking about her childhood home she'd soon see again. It distracted her enough to allow Zuko to sneak up on her and lean on the railing next to her.

"You know, we don't have to talk." she said when she spotted him.

"Azula, I last saw you thirty years ago when you were still bound on destroying my life. Now you're back with a son and a pirate empire. I want to hear about what happened to you."

"Well, let's see… I got both the son and the empire from my husband."

"That's good. Start with that. What was he like?"

"He had impeccable taste in women." she smirked and turned back towards the sea.

"Come on, Azula, you knew my wife since we were children. We have a long journey ahead of us, just give me something."

"You really want to know that bad?"

"Yes. Just start from when you first met Zari's father."

"Well, like every great love story it starts with thievery and murder…"

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

D. Dull. Lacking interest or excitement.

E. Ennui. A feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.

F. Forgettable. Fit or likely to be forgotten.

"Princess Azula! You are needed on deck!" a voice was heard from above the captain's cabin.

Azula hoped she'd at least get through half the alphabet while listing words describing her current situation. She was going to go with _glum_ next, although it wasn't such a great fit.

"Princess! Are you coming?" the yelling seemed to be getting louder.

"Anything to kill the boredom!" Azula answered back, quickly jumping off the unfortunate captain's bed and onto the deck of the ship. Her associates helped her steal- _commandeer_ an Earth Kingdom ship a few hours ago and the fool of a captain thought his pointy metal stick was going to be enough to take her down. Pity.

"There's a ship after us. We're not sure whose flag they're sailing under." Zirin said pointing at a still far away vessel. The girls loved sending her to talk to Azula when something had to be brought to her attention. Of all the _friends_ she made at the institution Azula did like her the best, but she was too much of a crowd pleaser.

"This might be an unprecedented suggestion, but have you tried going faster?" Azula asked, still not seeing what they wanted her to do about it.

"I told him that, he says he can't." Zirin pointed to one of the sailors they kept alive on the ship to get them where they needed to go. None of them knew anything about sailing, but they did know how to be persuasive.

"I… Um. The other ship seems to be traveling… Um, faster than any I've ever seen… Ma'am." the man trembled more and more as Azula walked closer to him. She stared at him for a few seconds freezing the blood in his veins, only to keep walking and look at the enemy ship herself. It was unusually fast and getting closer.

"I don't get it. You think we should have let more of them live?" Zirin spoke, "Azula?"

"Waterbenders." the Princess concluded by watching the waves move around their ship.

"I'm pretty sure we're in Earth Kingdom waters still. Whose ship even is that?"

"It doesn't matter. It's about to be a flaming pile of timber."

As the ship was getting close, Azula felt confident she could hit it with lightning. She cleared her people, did the move perfectly and aimed directly at the vessel.

Just as the lightning bolt was about to strike the hull of the ship, one of their crew members redirected it into the sky.

"Wait, now they have a firebender too?" one of the girls came closer to take a look.

"Oh, no, no, no…" the sailor let go of the helm and tried to jump in the water as the enemy ship was almost caught up with them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zirin caught the coward and put a dagger at his throat.

"Pirates… We better take our chances with the sea! If they catch us we're already dead…" the man continued yammering even under threat of death.

"Shut your trap." Azula said before seeing the water between the two ships freeze, connecting them. Good, she thought. Great even. Their morning confrontation was a drag, honestly. Maybe these people would put up more of a fight. It'd be fun, but it shouldn't take up more than twenty minutes…

She turned to look aboard the enemy ship and studied each member of the crew separately. Correction, ten minutes.

She was just thinking of how she'd separate the ships when they're all dead, when one man jumped over to her ship. It was a typical Water Tribe looking guy, holding two slightly curved swords.

"Hello, ladies and… Hostages?" the man stopped when he noticed all the men onboard were tied up or had a blade pointed at them, "Seriously? This ship too? Enough is enough, this is our territory. Who's in charge of this floating disaster?"

"That would be me." Azula carefully stepped closer to the enemy. He couldn't have been a lot older than she was. Could he be in charge of them?

"Be careful, he's a pirate!" one of the girls yelled, causing Azula to roll her eyes. As opposed to other captains who were usually useless, overconfident old men, this one was a nice improvement. Aesthetically speaking.

"It's Xun The Terrible!" one of the sailors screamed.

"No, it's Two Blade Yi… Everyone knows that." another one cut in.

"Those guys retired a decade ago, you know that, right?" the pirate smirked.

"So what's your pirate name Mister… Pirate?" one of Azula's friends asked.

"I don't have a pirate name…" he shook his head in disbelief "I'm not a book character. I do have a regular name. It's-"

"Wen?" Zirin asked from the back.

"Actually, yes." he turned and locked eyes with Zirin, "I know you from somewhere… Didn't we use to play together when we were kids?"

"Yes. You're a waterbender?" she asked, clearly remembering seeing him create an icy bridge to get to their ship.

"Now you know why I had to leave the Fire Nation…"

"So we don't see each other for a decade and you show up to rob me?"

"I'm sorry it's you. I really am." he shrugged, "Crew! Your Captain has made a decision… We're taking the ship!"

After Wen's signal all the men and women from the pirate ship drew their swords, making an unbelievable amount of noise, and jumped onboard Azula's ship. What followed was a quick-moving and unexpectedly bloody sword fight, with some bending thrown in for good measure. Azula seemed to be the only one who could hold her own against those people, even though she didn't even have a weapon.

Inevitably, she ended up faced against the enemy captain, Wen, since both of them could incapacitate several enemies with only one move. Azula dodged the one blade he had left and shot a pretty decent-sized stream of blue fire in his direction. It passed right next to his head.

"Nice one, but you missed." he said smugly.

"Did I?" she diverted his attention to his blade that took most of the attack and was now at the brink of melting. Wen's smirk faded as he discarded his last sword and got into his waterbending stance.

She allowed him to attack first, just to see how good he was. To assess the seriousness of the threat. They were pretty evenly matched for a few seconds until Azula felt two men grab her hands to stop her from fighting. She looked around and saw all of her friends were already defeated. They've surrendered, the useless bastards…

Azula was just about to use her right feet to burn this ship to ashes, when their captain walked over.

"Release the Blue Fire Girl." he said, and his men obeyed instantly.

Azula probably looked at least a little bit confused, because Wen looked at her next.

"I like a fair fight." he said as an explanation and got back into his stance.

"Said the waterbender on a wooden plank in the middle of a vast ocean."

"Well… I like to win, too." he smirked.

"Forget it. I'm not fighting you for the entertainment of these primitives." Azula crossed her arms while her comment earned a loud boo from the pirate crew.

"How about if I promise to release all of you if you win? Come on…"

"If I win you won't be here to give the order."

"Crew, if this woman manages to kill me, she is your new captain and you are to do as she says!" he declared before raising some seawater to surround his fists, "Shall we?"

Azula answered with a ball of fire heading straight for Wen's head. Again, their fight looked like it was a rehearsed dancing routine. Since they were so equally talented all of their attacks ended up nearly missing their targets. The people watching were getting more water and fire on them than the two people actually in the fight. In a few minutes, the constant clashing of blue water and blue fire became somewhat boring, so the two fighters reduced the distance between them. Less distance, less time to react… Someone had to take a hit eventually.

And Wen did, as Azula ignored bending and just punched him in the face when she saw an opening. However, she relished in her advantage for a second too long, since Wen managed to knock her down with a water whip and jump on top of her to hold her still.

"You see, normally, I prefer to do other more pleasurable activities with a woman on her back." he said smirking down at Azula. She didn't respond, which should have immediately made him suspicious. What did tip him off was feeling her chest move underneath him. She was taking an uncharacteristically deep breath. He rolled out of the way just in time to escape Azula breathing out a pillar of blue fire.

This time she was on top of him and held her elbow pressing down on his neck. It looked like she'd won, until he used his free hand to bend a giant wave that got a hold of her and pulled her overboard.

Now that he was free, he used the water to pull her back up where his people were ready to tie her.

"You fought well, but on the seas… There's no defeating me. Take her below!"

 **oooooooooo**

Azula was taken to what appeared to be the captain's cabin. Her hands and feet were tied up, Wen even reminded his crew to gag her. Breathing fire was off the table…

She was left alone there for about half an hour before the Captain came to talk to her.

"I'm going to remove this," he put his hands on her gag, "I only want to talk so there is no reason to burn my face off."

As soon as her mouth was free, Azula blew a little puff of air towards Wen, expecting him to flinch, but to her surprise he didn't. He untied the ropes binding her legs and then moved to a more respectable distance.

"Where were you going when we caught you?" he asked.

"Fishing."

Wen chuckled, "Please, this will be a lot faster if you just talk to me."

"Oh, you said _please_ ," she teased, "Let me tell you all my secrets! I am powerless to resist!"

"Look, you seem like a smart person, so I'll just explain to you the situation you found yourself in. Your friends… They left you. They sold you out. I told Zirin I'd let them leave if they make it worth my while. So I gave them the ship back and they left me with all the money you stole and their leader who has a bounty on her head."

"Those filthy, back-stabbing… When I find them, I'll-"

"But you won't. Cause they're gone and you're here. But you're in luck, because I will let you go if you point me in the direction of a bigger fish, so to speak."

"So, _you're_ fishing? What exactly do you think I know?"

"In my experience, low-level criminals lead to high-level criminals. I need you to help me find someone with a higher bounty, then I'll let you go anywhere you want. You have my word."

He was expecting her to jump at that deal, but his suggestion was met with mocking laughter.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" she asked and then laughed again, seeing his face, "Check the poster they gave you."

Wen did just that and she saw his face change when he read her name.

"That's right, Captain. There is no one with a higher bounty than me." she said, because he didn't seem like he was going to say anything. He sighed once more looking at the paper and then started walking towards the door.

"Sit tight, Princess. We'll drop you off at the next port." he said and turned away from her to put away the poster.

"You're letting me go? That doesn't seem like a good business idea…"

"Believe me, I know what I'm doing…" he started, but then swiftly turned around catching Azula's hand in the air a mere second before she could strike him. He waited for her to extinguish the fire in her palm and then pushed the arm out of the way. "I'm not like the amateurs you're used to!"

How the hell did he hear her coming? Or did he just know she'd burn herself out of her ropes eventually?

"So sit down." he continued, "Because you're not a prisoner. We're letting you go."

"You can't show your face in the Fire Nation, right?" she smirked, sneaking a peek at her wanted poster, "You have the biggest catch in all of the world and all you're going to get out of it are a few bruises…"

"You're wanted alive. That means we'd have to take you right to the Fire Lord to get our cash."

"But there's a bounty on you too?"

"All of us. We take one step into Capital City and we're dead." he paused, "In two hours we go our separate ways, Princess Azula."

Wen was about to walk out when she yelled after him, "You're just going to leave me here, untied?"

"Let's see, you're confident, but you're not stupid… I just offered to let you go if you behave and should you choose to attack one of us anyway, you know that deal would be off the table. You'd end up alone, faced against a whole crew of mostly benders. And even if by some miracle you managed to slay us all, you'd be stranded on a ship you don't know how to sail. Would another ship pass by and pick you up? Maybe. Maybe not."

"Oh, Captain, you're no fun at all…" Azula rolled her eyes as she laid back on his chair.

He was pretty accurate about the two hours till making port. Azula had more than enough time to study his cabin down to every detail.

Who even was this guy to just catch her, separate her from her associates and then let her go? She thought pirates were supposed to be scary. Yeah, this one wasn't even trying… According to the stories she'd heard he was supposed to be ten to twenty years older, smelling of alcohol and a bit less refined.

But his cabin was meticulous. This guy had books near his bed. Books Azula's heard of before. Books Azula wanted to read. Books Azula had read.

She opened one of them and read the chapter title.

"The Battle of Nayeong." Or that was the title before Wen crossed off the name of the town in ink and wrote _Oversized Egos_ instead of it. She remembered reading about this battle. He had the right idea…

As she flipped through the book she noticed he'd been adding things quite a lot. Mostly, it was just his version on what a certain general should have done to avoid what happened. Sometimes it was just jokes, like this one chapter where he corrected one guy's name to _General Dumbass_ for an entire chapter before writing _After reading this I am rooting for the Fire Lord_ at the end.

She'd never admit it, but some of the stuff she had time to read made her smile.

A knock on the door snapped her out of it.

"We're here. Small costal city. You're free to go." she heard Wen's voice through the door.

Just when things were getting interesting…

He let her walk out and onto the deck freely, but insisted he should walk behind her. Probably smart…

It took only one look off the deck of the ship for Azula to realize they'd brought her right back to the Earth Kingdom. Not only was she without a ship and associates, but she was back where she started. Usually, she would have just tried to sway them into working for her, but after chatting with Wen she couldn't guarantee that would work. He was… Different. It was actually intriguing and annoying all at the same time.

"Are you really gonna let her leave, Wen?" a voice was heard from the crew seconds before a man stepped out to speak.

"Just shut up, would you!" a woman spoke up to defend their captain.

"Stay out of this, Shi!" the man yelled, "First letting the ship go, now this? What's going on, Wen?"

"It's _Captain_." Wen corrected.

"Maybe it shouldn't be!"

Azula suddenly felt like she should have left quicker, while she had the chance. She wasn't sure making a run for it now would work.

"Captain, let me slice his throat! It would be my pleasure to end this mutineer…" Shi turned to Wen.

"Now, now… Easy." Wen started, "I explained myself already, not that I have to... We can't collect her bounty, so we're letting her go. You have a problem with that, you're welcome to try and capture her on your own. I'd love to see you try…"

The whole crew chuckled at that and Wen smirked, like he was taunting the other pirate.

"We could have just sold her to someone… This is just weak!" the man said.

"Listen…" Wen got right into the other man's face "I don't mind your sadistic inclinations. It's what makes you good at the job. But you follow my rules on my ship."

"She's one of-"

"She's one of us! She's on the run!" Wen took a step back, "Now just say _Yes, Captain_ , you big idiot, and we can move on…"

It was obvious on the man's face he was considering it, but the insult proved to be too much. He punched Wen right in his face and had twenty blades pointing at him in seconds.

 _He really was an idiot_ , Azula thought.

"Fine, you want out? On your knees!" Wen said and the crew pushed the mutineer down until he kneeled. The Captain stood over him and drew his sword slowly.

Azula was aware this was the perfect opportunity for her to escape, because no one was paying attention to her. Yet, she wanted to see how this would play out.

Wen chuckled suddenly, looking down at the man and said, "You're not worth staining the deck for… Throw him overboard!"

"I'm sorry you had to see th-" Wen turned to where Azula was standing only to notice she was gone.

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Since I felt this might have been too short, to start things off I posted another chapter right away.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**After this, I'll try to post at least one chapter a week.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 2**

 **103 AG**

A cloak didn't make much of a disguise, but in the last few months Azula was astounded to find out how often it worked. She spotted one drying on a clothes line and carefully walked by to grab it. This was a rather small town, but you could never be too careful. Posters with her name on them were popping up everywhere these days, Zuzu really spared no expense.

She noticed a man go into an alley alone and saw an opportunity to improve on her newly formed financial situation. It didn't take much to scare him, a single fireball in her hand was enough to get all the money he had on him.

Next, she walked to a nearby food stand and tried to buy something. The line was insufferably long, but any sort of aggression would surely just draw attention to her. Right when it was finally her turn, she noticed the man she robbed pointing her out to a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers. Scum…

"Don't come any closer!" she swiftly grabbed the woman standing in line next to her and threatened her with a ball of fire. She should have known stealth wasn't the way to go about this… "I'll just take the bread and leave! And you're going to let me, or she burns!"

"Look at the fire! That's Princess Azula!" someone yelled from the crowd.

"Give up, we have you surrounded." a soldier said.

Azula looked around and realized she was a bit outmatched. She shoved the woman towards a pair of soldiers and blasted fire at the remaining three that were blocking her way. She managed to escape through a row of houses and into the next street, but they were all right after her.

She was looking around while running, trying to spot a good hiding place, but without luck. Finally, after turning a sharp corner she noticed a tight gap between two houses and slipped in before the soldiers could spot her.

They ran right past her and further down the street, but Azula found herself pressed up against a stranger in a really tight space. She didn't have the room to swing at him or firebend without burning herself, but she was thinking of creative knock-out techniques when she recognized his voice.

"Great minds think alike, I guess…"

She looked up and saw Captain Wen smirking down at her.

"This is your idea of a safe place to release someone?" she asked, trying unbelievable hard not to think about how close they were or the fact that she could feel his breath on her skin.

"Yeah, I'm clearly hiding in here because I knew _exactly_ what I was walking into…" he paused while a group of soldiers walked past them, "I messed up, obviously. This place was never this heavily guarded."

"Well, I can only assume your plucky crew was already captured."

"No, they're back on the ship. It's just a matter of getting to them."

"They have the way to the shore heavily blocked." Azula said after peeking out of their hiding place.

"Obviously…"

"Obviously." she paused, "Well, there's two of us now, maybe we can take them."

"Let me take another look…" he started leaning towards the street before Azula grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back, slamming him into a wall. His stare was initially pissed, but it seemed to soften as soon as his blue eyes caught her golden ones.

A soldier walked by but didn't see them.

"He was…" she started, letting go of his shirt.

"Yeah…"

"That's the only reason why I…"

"Uh-huh…" he looked away, "I think I know how we can shake them. Straight out and a few streets over. I know a guy."

"No, we need your ship to get out of here…"

"Just trust me, alright?"

She chuckled, "I'd rather take my chances with them alone." the tips of two of her fingers lit up.

"No, no… No lightning. Stealth is crucial. Can't you just follow me there?"

"Your ideas are what brought me here, Captain Stealth. I won't get myself captured because you don't want to kill people." she said, and Wen chuckled like he had no idea what she was talking about, "Like that man on your ship. You should have killed that fool."

Just as she was saying that, Wen bended some water out of his pouch, turned it into icy blades and sent them flying towards the street. When Azula turned around the soldier standing behind her was already dead. So, she might have misjudged the Captain a little.

They both ran outside and found themselves surrounded almost immediately.

"How about that lightning now?" he whispered while pretending to surrender. Azula didn't need to be told twice. She struck the biggest man and then turned to Wen, only to find he was already climbing the closest building.

He was rather surprised when he saw her use her fire to propel herself up there after him.

"In my experience they'll follow us up. And start shooting arrows and rocks…" he looked around now that they had a high vintage point, "If we want to get to the sea we should really-"

"We're going with your plan. Lead the way."

It was very visible on Wen's face he was about to gloat, but he didn't get a chance since the first soldiers had just climbed after the two of them.

"Follow me." he said and started running, jumping from one rooftop to another, while Azula fell behind to shoot one of the men with lightning.

"You can only take out one guy with that?" Wen asked while they were running side by side.

"What do you suppose the width of a lightning bolt is?" she snapped at him.

"Fair enough."

She turned around to take one more soldier out with her lightning, but there were a lot more of them. When she turned back she noticed they were at the end of a row of houses. The next one was way too far for a person to jump to it. A person without firebending that is…

"How are you-" she asked, seeing Wen wasn't slowing down at all while running towards the gap.

"Just go!" he yelled, and she hurried in front of him and made the jump with the help of her fire streams. As soon as she landed she turned around and saw Wen jumping, giving himself a shove with his bending water. When he was about at the half of his jump it became apparent he wouldn't make it. He reached out his right hand, but he would have still been a meter away from Azula's hand if he hadn't used his water to extend his reach.

When he began falling he transformed the water connecting them into ice and Azula was able to pull him up from the side of the building. Both him and Azula, as well as all the soldiers, were surprised that worked.

He then showed her what building they were looking for, but before entering they needed to deal with another group of soldiers on the ground.

"Lightning when I tell you." he said before placing ice in front of the men on the ground. Most of them slipped and fell right away and that was when he turned the ice to water. "Now!"

Azula fired the lightning, realizing what he wanted to do. In half a second her lightning took out the whole group of enemies.

"Literally ten times more lethal together!" Wen smirked. Azula was looking away, but he could have sworn he saw her smile slightly too.

 **oooooooooo**

"Wen, you son of a bitch!" a bartender used as a sort of cheery greeting.

"Careful, Chao! You knew my ma and she wouldn't appreciate this kind of talk." Wen answered from the door. He just led Azula into a shady looking bar, where seemingly everybody knew him.

"And she'd appreciate you killing and thieving around?" Chao asked from behind the bar.

"If she knew how good the pay is, she'd join in…" Wen said and they both laughed.

While the Captain was reconnecting with his friends, Azula looked through the door into the street, checking if any guards followed them inside. None of the people in this establishment looked like they could help them.

"So, who's the babe?" Chao asked, looking over Wen's shoulder to Azula.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"She and I need to lose some soldiers." Wen said before it could get ugly.

"It'll cost you extra for two people, boy."

"Yeah, fine…"

After Wen agreed the bartender whistled and two of the more bulky men in the establishment moved the bar aside and removed a few floorboards under it to reveal a secret, coffin-shaped hole.

"Inside." Wen said and lied down into the hiding place.

"If you think I'm getting in there, then you…" Azula started, but then noticed soldiers outside through the window. She lied down next to Wen and watched as Chao and his men closed them in.

Azula was once again in a dark and unreasonably small space with the young captain. It was a lot like lying in a coffin only without the bliss of solitude and the comfort of death.

"Don't worry, Princess. We can't run out of air in here." he said quietly, probably as a response to her loud breathing.

"I am not afraid."

"I felt awful the first time. To be fair, I was only five and there were three of us in here." he added.

"Hey, lovebirds! Keep it down." They could hear Chao from outside.

After a few seconds of silence, the soldiers made their way into the bar. Their conversation with Chao was very audible from under the floor. The man held up his part of the deal, Azula wasn't so sure he would. He told the soldiers he saw the two fugitives ride south and out of the town. They searched the bar but didn't find them. Not even close.

 **oooooooooo**

"Up you go, boy!" Chao opened up the hole only when he was sure they were safe.

"Saved my skin… Again. Thanks." Wen pulled a bag of coins out of his coat and put it on the table, "Now if you don't mind, the lady and I have to get going…"

"Wait. I want the pouch, too." Chao pointed to Wen's bending water container.

"What for exactly? You don't know where that's been…"

Chao didn't answer, he only gave his guys a nod and they forcefully took it from Wen. Seeing that, Azula felt it was time for her to intervene. She stepped forward and pointed each of her hands at one of Chao's henchmen.

"Nice friends you have there, Captain." she said.

"What are you doing, Chao?" Wen asked.

"You borrowed a lot of money from me over the years!" Chao said, "Ever thought about paying back any of that?"

"Alright! I just did a huge job, just let us go to the ship and I'll pay you what I owe."

"I don't want your money, boy!" Chao walked to him and shoved a piece of paper into his hands, "I want you to kill this guy for me. He lives an hour from here, it shouldn't be a problem. And we'll keep the girl here to make sure you come back."

"No!" Wen yelled before Azula could even make a move, "I'll stay, and you let her go. She'll get it done. Won't you, _love_?"

"Sure thing, _sweetie_." Azula realized this play was going to get her out of there the fastest. She could see Chao was going to say yes. And he did. He sent her away with a picture and an address and Wen stayed back. They were just strapping him onto a chair as she was leaving.

What a fool! Yeah, he had a nice collection of books and a sense of humor, but in reality, he was as dumb as a rock! He gave her a choice between guaranteed freedom and possible freedom and expected her to choose the former… No sane person would come back there.

Azula threw the paper with the information on the street and started running towards the shore. Everything was clear. Not a soldier in sight. She had to start rehearsing her speech for the crew already…

 _We tried to fight our way out together, but they were too strong. I tried to save him, but it was too late…_ No… _I wanted to save him, but I was overpowered._ Yeah, more womanly… _I don't even know how I managed to get away alive. No one is safe here!_

Yeah, that would work. Throw a tear in there and she'll be on that ship heading for the Fire Nation in no time. His crew didn't even seem that loyal, they probably wouldn't even care if he was gone. Just like the girls she busted out of that institution didn't think twice when they got an offer to leave her.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"Wait… You ran into each other accidentally three times?" Zuko asked, "That's a lot of coincidences."

"It was only two times and the second time was partially caused by the first time."

"But you left him there, tied up and surrounded by enemies…"

"Don't be so melodramatic. That wasn't the end of that." Azula said and watched as her brother's face lit up. For a man in his forties he was surprisingly teenage-girl-like.

"Are you two actually being decent to each other?" Mai approached them.

"Yes, Azula's talking about Zari's father." Zuko welcomed his wife to lean on the rails beside him.

"I definitely have to hear more details to believe it." Mai said.

"I'm already halfway throu-" Azula was interrupted.

"So, he was a pirate captain, who robbed her blind, but then they fought soldiers together and she let him get captured." Zuko explained and Mai nodded like it was a completely normal way to meet your spouse.

"By his own idiot friends…" Azula added, "Anyway, here it goes."

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

Empathy. Azula always had it on an intellectual level. Viewing a situation from another person's view point was very useful if one wanted to predict another's behavior. And she was freaking great at it. She used to be able to read people like they all had their thoughts carved into their foreheads…

But when other people spoke of empathy, they were often referring to something quite different. As far as she understood it, it was like an emotion's echo. And she never really got why someone would want someone else's second-hand sadness…

Her father once told her the two of them could never feel something like that, because they were different, perfected, better. But even using the intellectual one could fool you, because Azula fixated on her similarities with Wen so much, trying to understand why he would trust her, that she found herself back at that bar.

She was just about to fire blast down the door, when Wen ran out and almost crashed right into her.

"Azula? You should be miles from here right now…" he said, while reattaching his water pouch, "Wait, you really killed that guy?"

"No. But I need you alive to get into the ship. It's not safe to stay here." she was so thankful for her perfected lying skills sometimes.

"I can think of ten other ways to handle it, I'm sure you can too."

"You wanted me to leave?"

"I just thought us working together came to an end and I wanted to give you a painless exit." he shrugged, "I knew I could take those guys out as soon as one of them was dumb enough to pour a glass of water. But thanks for coming to the rescue."

"It wasn't rescue." she rolled her eyes, "It was ensuring my passage out of here."

"Right. Well, consider your passage ensured." Wen turned to head for the shore and Azula slowly followed him. She was almost sure she saw him smile slightly while they were walking.

"I just hope your crew hasn't already vanished with the ship."

"Of course, they didn't. I'm their captain."

 **oooooooooo**

Wen stood at the dock and stared into the horizon, while Azula laughed delightedly.

"I told you…" she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'd invite you onto my ship, but you gave it away. I guess, I can't call you Captain anymore…"

"They didn't steal it." he said simply, ignoring her mocking.

"No…" she said as sarcastically as she could, "I'm sure they're having it cleaned for you."

"They thought I was captured and they're at the rendezvous point." Wen turned and looked around like he was finding his bearings.

"They are thieves and they stole something."

"You're wrong, Princess. But if you don't believe me, by all means, stay here." he started walking away from the docks.

"I'm good at reading people and from what I've seen, they stole from you because you're too lenient with them." she started walking after him.

"That's a lot of advice coming from someone whose crew is definitely in the wind. They were terrified of you." he stopped so he could face her while he talked, "Yeah, I can read people, too."

"Well, then you know that's just what people do. They leave, no matter what you do." she felt that might have gone deeper than their current discussion was calling for.

"Not all of them. You're smart, but you're wrong about my people."

"I'm never wrong." she said, even though she remembered her miscalculation concerning her friends Mai and Ty Lee quite vividly.

"Then you won't mind placing a bet. Come with me to the rendezvous point. We have an agreement that they wait there for three days before assuming I'm dead. If they're not there I will admit defeat."

"And what would we bet on? We're both completely penniless."

"The loser has to call the winner the Unrivalled Expert in Human Nature."

"That sounds incredibly childish and pointless…" she said and he started walking away.

He was surprised to see her follow him.

"I didn't say no." she explained herself, "Now where are we supposedly meeting your crew?"

"That's the thing… It's on another island. I know the route, but it'll take a few days. I'm still your best bet for getting a safe trip to the Fire Nation."

"We don't have food, a map, money…"

"It'll be an adventure."

"That's what idiots say to justify going into a situation entirely unprepared." she looked over to him.

"We are both master benders. We are both highly intelligent. I'd call that prepared enough." he must have thought he was so clever, sneaking a compliment in like this.

"True."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Anyway, I wrote most of this a while ago, but I kind of hated it so I decided I won't post it.**_

 _ **Here's how that went…**_

 _ **I'm not 100% happy with how this turned out, but I a few days ago I thought: What the hell… If someone likes it, they'll read it. If no one likes it, no harm done...**_

 _ **And since it wasn't doing anyone any good sitting on my hard drive… Here.**_

 _ **I'm working on something else right now, so this will cover me while I do that, hopefully.**_

 _ **Anyway, I know there are a lot of Azula/OC romances out there, I usually kind of suck at romances, let's all be honest…. But I like the idea of Azula meeting someone who's at her level. I don't really ship her with any of the canon characters seriously, because none of them fit just right.**_

 _ **Something I should have mentioned before, the years are just there to help me mostly. That means Azula is 18 at the time she first meets Wen. Her "friends" from the institution are featured in the comics, so them and Zirin, not my OCs, real canon characters.**_

 _ **That's all. Hope you enjoyed it… If you did, if you maybe want me to continue this, spend a few minutes and leave me a review… :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Here it is… Third part of whatever this is…**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 3**

 **103 AG**

"No matter how royal you are, it won't change the simple fact the guy's name was Chen…" Wen argued, but Azula shook her head trying to get a word in.

"It's Chin. Chin the Conqueror." she claimed. When they started asking each other history questions they had no idea it would turn into this.

"Oh, I wish there was someone here we could ask so you'd finally admit you're wrong!" he spread his arms, gesturing to the forest they were in.

"Because all the Earth Kingdom peasants are very educated on their history from a couple of hundred years ago?"

"Because it's so obvious every moron knows it's Chen. They even have a village named after him. I've been there."

"Then the village is named Chin too!"

"Fine, Princess! You don't want to admit it? We're staying at 59:58 for me, and it's my turn to ask." Wen kept a serious face, but it was kind of obvious he was enjoying himself, "What was the name of the 46th Earth King?"

Azula stopped walking after that and looked straight at the pirate.

"What? Too hard for you?" he teased.

"Wen, we both know his name was lost in the fire set by those rioters! Asking a question without an answer? I invented that." she too was surprisingly having a decent time walking through the woods with this thief. Finally, someone who wasn't a total simpleton. Someone who you could talk to normally…

"I think you will find that I invented that, because I've been using it since before I can remember, and I'm clearly older than you… But 59:59. Come on, do your worst."

His comment was annoying but gave her an idea.

"My question. When was I born?" she asked.

"Not part of the game."

"It is a part of history, ergo part of the game." she smirked sensing she was about to take the lead.

"But it is not a part of Earth Kingdom history. We agreed we're steering clear of our nations since one of us would have an obvious advantage." he thought he had her, but her smile wasn't going away.

"You don't think the first Earth Queen ever is a part of Earth Kingdom history?"

"You ruled for what… A full day maybe?"

"But I did rule."

"Damn, woman… You were born in… 84?"

"85. My lead."

"So I'm two years older than you." he said, smiling even though he was losing.

"Why do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Volunteer information about yourself… It can only be used against you. I don't understand the logic behind it."

"There's not logic, really." he looked away, "I just feel like I have an unfair advantage. You know nothing about me while I've read an entire book series on you and your family."

"You don't know anything about us. About me." Azula almost looked offended by that. She was sick and tired of people who thought they knew her just because they read what someone had to say about her in a book.

The Fire Nation books on the matter were almost fiction because of how they changed all the facts that could be a bit disagreeable. That's why, for example, Azula's grandmother didn't _fling herself off the roof of the palace_ , she _succumbed to a terrible illness after a long battle_. Only thing worse were the foreign historians, who just didn't know a whole lot and added scary sounding lies in to make up for it.

"How about, for another ten points, I guess what your plan is?" Wen asked, "Loser finds us dinner."

"You can't seriously think that some book gave you the power of anticipating what I'll do?"

"The books gave me background information. The last few hours showed me that you think like me, with a few profoundly different core assumptions about the world."

"Alright, but you'll just embarrass yourself." Azula stopped and sat on a rock. She had to hear this…

"OK… Your plan…" he paced around her rock, deep in thought, "It's not freeing your father, because that's just too easy and you would have never agreed to the game."

"Obviously…"

"Obviously." he took a deep breath, "Your plan is to gather people, followers. Anyone you can, then inspire loyalty… Use them to gather resources. Use anything and everything you are given."

"You're staling," she smirked, "That's the beginning of every plan… If you want to win I want specifics."

"Alright… You are a princess, so your meaningful interactions were limited to your family mostly… So father's out, how about the mother? I read she disappeared, maybe finding her?"

"She's not missing, she's just a bitch."

"Alright, not the mother then… Your brother! He's Fire Lord. But overthrowing him would require an army, not to mention taking the Avatar out of the picture and you don't seem to be preparing for that. But it does have something to do with him, doesn't it?"

"Just give up." How absolutely adorable of him to think he can bring his mind to her level…

"He's your older brother, right? Zuko? So you want to come back to him, because you two were always close. You were the smart one and he was your protector. And he'd understand, because he was banished too while- Why are you laughing?"

"I couldn't stop myself after you said Zuzu was my protector…" she chuckled again, "But keep going, you're terrible at this."

"You call the most powerful man in the Fire Nation Zuzu?"

"Zuzu is not the most powerful man in the Fire Nation."

"So… Daddy didn't get it, Mommy didn't get it, Zuzu didn't get it… Looking for a lost lover?"

"Don't use this to find out things about me."

"Fair enough. Where was I? You didn't get along with your brother. You were rivals and you're coming back to take revenge on him. Torture him for betraying you. But you don't strike me as the physical torture kind of girl… Psychological torture?" Wen stopped pacing right in front of her and focused completely on her face so he could monitor the slightest twitch or gaze.

"That sounds more like me…"

"What are you up to? Taking away someone he loves? No. That doesn't help you. No… The two of you went through the same childhood, only he came out a national hero and you had a mental breakdown. Now he's you and you are him." Wen could see Azula's eyes were darting all over the place, telling him he was getting close, "And you don't like it that way, do you? Him better than you. You want Zuzu to fall, you want him to end up just like you did. So your plan is to corrupt him, to take away his heroism and make him just like you up to the last detail. Because if he goes evil and loses his mind for a while, he'd understand. Someone would understand finally, and he'd want you by his side, damn, he'd need you by his side."

Azula stood up, looking like she was about to say something to that, or at least rain fire on him, but then she swiftly turned around and started running away.

"Princess!" Wen yelled after her, "Princess! Azula! Come on!"

He allowed himself to fall to the ground and laid back. For someone so smart he sure could be stupid…

"I'm sorry…" he whispered to himself.

Following a girl that obviously didn't want him around through the woods seemed like the wrong move, so he decided to just set up camp where she left and wait till morning. A few hours after sunset, he was beginning to think she was never coming back when he heard footsteps approaching. He stood up, taking a flaming branch from the fire he made, but he didn't need it to recognize Azula, since she had a blue fire burning in one of her hands to see where she was going.

"Dinner." she said and placed three dead fish in front of his fire.

"But you didn't have a net or anything…"

She showed two of her fingers and said, "Lightning. Water. Dead fish."

"Tomorrow I think you should handle the fire and I the water."

"Smart." she sat down on the opposite side of the fire, but she seemed different. She wasn't making eye contact. Wen wondered what the best way to ask a person if they were alright was, without implying they were weak. That was the last thing he wanted.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said. I went too far for no reason…" he said, half expecting her to blow up at him.

"Don't apologize. I agreed to the game." she paused, "I can admit when someone else is as good at something as I am."

"I didn't want to offend you. I do that sometimes, I say what's on my mind, but I don't think it through so someone ends up hurt."

"I do that too. People don't like it." she looked at him, "But I'm not hurt. I didn't expect you to read me that easily. I'm not used to people seeing the world my way."

"Me neither. That's why I'm glad we got to travel together. I've met a lot of people in my life, I mean, a lot… But very few saw what I saw. Very few knew how lonely it is, how-"

"Exhausting." Azula watched the fire flicker.

"Yes. I used to love always being the smartest person in the room. Being one, two, twelve steps in front of them at all times… But sometimes I look at the idiots writing songs to someone who'd never date them, or dancing around, or laughing at nothing and I think… They're happy. They can barely think twelve minutes into the future, and they're happy…"

"But they will never know how it is to win battles with only your words. To pull one little string and watch the whole world change to your will…"

"But even if all my dreams were coming true, I still wouldn't be that happy. I'd be worrying, planning, calculating…"

"I'd never give up my mind. It's the only good thing I have left." she said deciding to be completely honest, "I've had the unfortunate opportunity to feel it fail on me and then I truly had nothing."

Hearing that, Wen got up and kneeled right next to where Azula was sitting down. She seemed to be a bit flustered by this sudden invasion of personal space.

"Neither would, I. Of course… But don't you wish you could turn it off? Just for a second, a day, or for one person..." their eyes met suddenly, "Don't you wish you could look into someone's eyes, forget all the calculating and just see them?"

"Maybe."

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"Wait, you didn't kiss him?" Mai asked.

"No…" Azula shook her head, "We'd just met. What kind of whore do you take me for?"

"You were alone in the dark, that was the cue."

"I'll have to agree with my wife." Zuko cut in.

"See, even Zuko would kiss Wen." Mai smirked.

"No, that's not what I…" the Fire Lord tried to explain himself, but the two women just snickered.

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

As the night went on Azula and Wen decided it was pointless for both of them to be awake, so they agreed to take turns sleeping. Azula got the first watch while Wen lied down on his side and swiftly fell asleep.

The Princess spent the first hour of her shift thinking about her new acquaintance and travel companion. Usually she would just dissect all the events of the previous day in her mind, and that day had a lot to study, seeing how she lost all her money, her ship and her associates. But there was something in her that just wouldn't let her move on from replaying her conversation with Wen in her mind.

All her life she prided herself in her uniqueness. She was the prodigy, in firebending and her studies, she was the only person with blue fire, the smartest student in all her classes... They taught her that was because she was a Fire Nation Princess, the product of hundreds of years of only the strongest and brightest ancestors, but now she wasn't so sure.

If she took her brother, someone with the exactly same ancestry as her, and this low-born thief, the difference was immeasurable. It was easier for her to believe Wen was an anomaly, than to question everything she ever believed about people, so that's the explanation she settled on for now.

She found herself glancing over to Wen often, while thinking about him, but after some time she noticed he was mumbling in his sleep. She couldn't make out any of the words, but now that she started paying attention to it, she realized he was covered in sweat and thrashing around like he was in pain.

Azula got up and walked over to him with the intention of kicking him awake. At the last second, she stopped herself, seeing his pained expression and decided to instead wake him by gently rocking his shoulder.

"Wen… Wen." she called and after the second time her opened his eyes and violently sat up, still breathing heavily.

"My turn?" he asked, still trying to calm himself down.

"No… You were shaking and turning…"

"Thanks. You can get some rest now, I'm not going back to sleep."

"It's barely been two hours."

"You might as well sleep, because when this happens I prefer being awake." he turned himself towards the fire. Azula moved back to her side, but didn't lie down.

"I used to have nightmares as a child." Azula broke the silence, catching Wen off guard, "What? I'm doing your thing. I'm sharing to prevent someone from having the upper hand."

"So, what made them stop?"

"Waking up." she said and Wen smiled.

"Mine are about my time in the war, mostly." he offered as an explanation.

"If you fought in the war, then why don't you hate me?" Azula asked directly.

"You never did anything to me…"

"But I could have. I would have, if given the chance. I'm not just any ashmaker, that's how you call us, right? I'm the Princess!" their campfire grew and changed color to blue, "Why don't you hate me for everything I did?!"

"Because you were a child! I became part of it when I was 12, you've been a part of it your whole life… You never had a real choice."

"Careful, Captain. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. I did have a choice."

" _Do it or die_ is not really a choice, now is it?"

"You think my father would have killed me?"

"I think you tried your hardest to never find out." he looked away and the fire stopped raging and returned to its original orange.

"Which side did you fight on?" Azula asked.

"What?"

"Zirin said she knew you as a child. Did you fight on our side?"

"Almost." he said and seemed reluctant to share more. Now he stays quiet! Now that she's actually curious…

"Can I get back my lead if I tell you your life's story?" she asked all of a sudden.

"And you called me out for making assumptions out of the books I've read…"

"That's entirely different, that's using a few actions to judge the person. This is using your knowledge of the person to guess a few details. It's induction versus deduction, really…"

"Fine. Deduct away, Princess." Wen laid back and watched the stars.

"Let's start then… You were born an only child in the Northern Water Tri-"

"Wrong."

"Don't tell me you're one of those swamp-living waterbenders…"

"I was born in the South Pole."

"Untrue. There was only one waterbender in the South in the last half a century and I've met her."

"Well, let's just say we didn't stay long after my parents found out I could bend..."

"You hid right in front of us… You fled to the Fire Nation, that's how you knew that man from today… He smuggled you in through the Earth Kingdom. That's why you had to hide in the floor before. And when you got there you pretended to be Fire Nation citizens. They forbade you from bending."

"Correct. My parents knew they'd come for me eventually if we did nothing. We had to run."

"But you did learn how to bend… It was forbidden, so it was the only thing you wanted to do."

"That's right." he sat back up to look at her, "I had no one to teach me so I only did what felt right. That's why I win fights, I kind of invented my own style, before stealing a scroll at 8. I had to because… A life without bending for me, felt like no life at all."

Azula focused on him as he moved his fingers around slightly, collecting little drops of water on them from the air. If she was being honest, it was amazing to hear someone talk with such passion about their element. When she was growing up it was just fire, fire, fire… Fire is good, fire is strong, everything else fades in comparison… But she was beginning to internalize fire was not all there is.

"My parents both died when I was 11. Some Fire Nation disease none of us had built immunity for." he helped move her story along, "There is no way you could see that coming. Spirits know, I couldn't…"

"Alright, so you're 11 and you're all alone in an enemy land… You… Um, you can…" Azula couldn't even imagine being that alone at such a young age. Sure, she was often lonely growing up, but at least she knew she'd always have food and protection if she needed it. Despite that, she gathered the best strategy was to think about what she would have done in those circumstances.

"I suppose you teach yourself to steal," she started, "And lie, and more than anything get other people to do what you want. You quickly realize that with how smart you are, you can get other people to steal for you."

Wen usually hated how that part of his story made him seem, but when Azula was saying it there wasn't a grain of judgement in her voice. She said all those terrible things, but she said them like it was a completely understandable thing.

"But I was trying to finish school. I believed if I did, my life would get better one day. I'd finally be able to stop bending and be like everyone else… Bending that I was getting objectively great at the time."

"But something happened, didn't it?" somehow Azula wanted to hear the ending of that story more than she wanted to breathe.

"One day I heard they lowered the age of recruitment for boys. I knew I'd be viewed as a non-bender and they were basically used as bait back then, so I decided I needed to leave. I sneaked my way onto a ship and eventually made it to the North Pole."

"Wrong side of the world?" Azula smiled and he mimicked her.

"Yeah, I didn't know it that well back then. But I was with my people finally. And the Pole… Water everywhere, like nothing I'd ever seen… It was everything I dreamed it would be. But I was still an orphan and I was caught stealing one day so by the soldiers' logic, that meant I was ready to serve. They took me to a camp where I was trained for a year before I saw combat."

"And let me guess? It was terribly traumatizing, and you will never be able to forget the things you saw?" Azula interrupted. She could only imagine that's what other kids thought, kids who weren't raised with someone constantly telling them they'll kill a lot of people some day and make their daddy proud.

"Are you kidding?" Wen looked over to her, "I loved it. Someone was finally teaching me waterbending. And I was so good, Princess… Every shred of modesty I had left dissipated. In a year I could take every teacher there. One of the generals told me I restored his faith in _us actually wining this war._ And I loved combat even more, but I was too young to think things through completely. I did everything they asked, and I reveled in the attention it got me. It wasn't long before they told me I'll be lieutenant soon. That's when I realized if I didn't do something right away, I'd spend my whole life fighting their war."

"Wait? You deserted?" in Azula's mind it was unthinkable. She'd killed people for even mentioning it.

"I couldn't have known the Avatar would return in just a few years. In my perspective, it was the only way to get my life back." Wen looked up at the moon, "And there was only way I could do it. A waterbender's last, desperate option. Bloodbending."

"Are you trying to be funny? There is no way those stories are true…"

"There are a lot of misconceptions in them, like the one about a dark spirit that comes to drag you into the Spirit World if you try it, but bloodbending is very much real. I've done it." he finished and noticed Azula was subtly trying to check the current moon phase. He understood, they were alone and there was really no decent defense against a truly skilled bloodbender.

"I wouldn't use it again if it wasn't absolutely necessary." he added to put her at ease, "My friends and I all tried practicing it every full moon, but I was the only one that could actually do it. I got them all out together with the ship you saw, but there were… Casualties."

"And that was the beginning of Captain Wen. Pirate with hidden depths." she finished for him.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"If things were a little different we would have known each other," none of them noticed Katara was also listening in, until now, "Sokka, your husband and me."

"I suppose." Azula sighed.

"You would have probably dated him, Katara." Zuko cut in, amusing his wife greatly.

"Yeah, think about it. He would have been the only older boy besides your brother." Mai supported Zuko's theory, making both Katara and Azula visibly irritated.

"That may be, but what happened happened." Azula concluded this childish exercise.

"I had no idea the Northerners even sent…" Zuko started.

"The capitol wasn't all there was." Katara started, "They were safe behind their walls while the rest of the Pole went to fight, just like my father did."

"Did your father take little orphan boys with him, too?" Azula asked.

"Of course not." Katara shook her head, "How can you even ask that?"

"Kat, you want to go check up on the kids with me?" Mai asked, trying to defuse the situation.

"No, I want to hear more." Katara seemingly calmed down, "Wen was one of our people, I have to know what happened to him."

Azula nodded and continued her story.

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

Azula slowly opened her eyes, realizing it was already morning. She looked around for Wen, assuming something had happened to him since he didn't wake her for her watch.

But in a few seconds, she spotted him emerging from the forest carrying fruit.

"Good morning, Princess." he started, "We have a long walk ahead of us, but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying this gourmet selection. We have lychee nuts, purple berries and lychee nuts…"

He dropped the entire pile of food in front of her.

"Having trouble deciding with so many options?" he teased as a response to her silence.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked, taking a nut from the pile.

"I wasn't going back to sleep, this way at least one of us got a good night's rest." he put a handful of berries in his mouth, "And I thought of another way for you to get back your lead from our game."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Fight me. Winner gets ten points." he got up and attached his water pouch to his waist.

"Aren't we on a tight schedule?"

"Yes, but I think some training will be good for us. We got into some serious stuff yesterday, so we could use something simple."

"Now that you don't have the whole ocean to use against me, it _will_ be simple." she stood up too.

Azula won the first round, evening the score. It wasn't easy, though. For the first time in a few years she had a decent opponent. A real challenge. So when he asked if she wanted a rematch she agreed.

They fought a couple of times, each winning about half, as expected. Every time Azula made the tiniest mistake, Wen was there to take advantage of it. She wasn't perfect, but neither was he. She really didn't want to stop any time soon, and the fact that the fights always ended with one of them on top of the other didn't hurt.

As they fought they both learned each other's moves, which only made the whole thing more interesting. But that was not all they picked up. Azula learned Wen smelled like the sea, no matter how long he'd been away from it, and also that sometimes he was willing to take a punch to see her smile.

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Anyway, we got some backstory for Wen and something about what Azula was up to when she got involved in all of this. Her plan is not entirely my idea, though, she did speak to Zuko in Smoke and Shadow about how she realized her destiny wasn't to be Fire Lord, but to make him into the Fire Lord he was supposed to be.**_

 _ **I love the idea of Azula dealing with the fact that her destiny lies somewhere else. It may be a bumpy road until she finds it, though…**_

 _ **Also, I added a bit of Azula dealing with the fact that low-borns can be just as amazing as the kind of people she grew up with.**_

 _ **I promised, I'll post weekly, and I think I'll be able to uphold that for now.**_

 _ **The sheer quantity of continuity errors I had to slay in order to make this postable is painful. Writing something slowly over a long period of time is the death of me. So please forgive me if something still doesn't quite add up. I tried my best.**_

 _ **And of course, feel free to share any thoughts you may have :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**First, thank you so much for the comments, it means a lot :)**_

 _ **I'd like to make the chapters a tad longer, but they do have to break at a logical point in the story, so the lengths will change from week to week.**_

 _ **Here is another one, hope you enjoy it…**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 4**

 **103 AG**

After a day and a half of going through the Earth Kingdom forest, the pirate and the princess finally reached the shore again. Azula didn't really care much what the scenery was while they were traveling, she actually preferred the forest for security reasons.

Wen, on the other hand, lit up when he saw the sea again.

"We can rest here." he said and ran towards the water.

"I'm beginning to think you'd rather be late than admit your crew didn't show up." she started before realizing Wen had already taken off his shirt and was now at the shoes. She looked away, trying to fight her curiosity and remain loyal to the rules of decency she was taught.

"Don't fluster, the pants are staying on." she heard him say seconds before a loud splash.

"Just hurry it up, pirate." she turned back towards him, to find him floating in the water. She tried to play it like she had men undressing themselves around her every day, but that was far from the truth. Between her childhood in an all-girls school and her teenage years in an all-girls mental institution, her contact with boys was always limited. She was beginning to think that was by design. Father couldn't have her distracted, now, could he?

She got it in a way. For the last day or so she _was_ feeling pretty distracted.

"Why do you still call me that?" he asked from the water, still smirking like he stumbled upon treasure, not a small beach.

"You call me _Princess_." she lied down on the ground, taking in the sun.

"Fair enough. Want to join me, _Azula_?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Could it be that the almighty Fire Nation Princess doesn't know how to swim?"

"Don't be preposterous, I fought with the Navy. I can hold my breath for 5 minutes, swim for hours in freezing cold water and come out ready to firebend. I trained for years."

"No, no, no, no… You're looking at it all wrong." Wen walked out of the water and took one of her hands, "Come, I'll show you."

"I don't have a swimsuit." she shook her head.

"I'll dry all our stuff with my bending later. Come on." he stepped back into the shallows and watched as she removed her boots and jacket.

"I'm in the water. So what?" she said upon feeling the chill of the waves on her feet.

"Now like this." he took her hand again, she still wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she didn't think to pull it back even for a second. Wen only stopped when they were both standing face to face, with the water around their waists.

"The sea is not something you overcome," he took her other hand into his too, "You work with it, adapt to it and it adapts to your presence."

"Easy for you to say, when you can control it with a single movement." she looked through the water at their feet on the rocks.

"You really think I can control the whole ocean?" Wen chuckled, "You think any waterbender could? The water's there, we just help it along its way. And water always finds a way. The smallest cracks, hot or cold, it's there somehow."

Azula felt the waves become stronger and made the mistake of locking eyes with Wen.

"How does it feel?"

Azula was thinking of all kinds of synonyms for the word amazing, when she realized he was probably asking about the water.

"Cold." she said simply.

"We could use a little fire then." he smiled and she put her palms in between them, letting a fire burn. Wen put his hands close, but not too close, to feel a bit of the heat.

"It's quite beautiful when it's no out to kill me," he added, thinking he could have said the same thing about her, "I never thought I'd see the blue kind. Who taught it to you?"

"No one. It just came natural to me."

"I always wanted to ask… Do you feel the same way about the sun that I do about the moon?"

"Yes, it helps."

"No. I mean, do you miss it?"

"When I was locked up…I didn't see it for months at a time. It was survivable, but it was no way to live."

"The thing about the sun… It burns you."

"Only if you're not careful." Azula extinguished her fire, "If you respect it, it gives life."

"I'm quite sure you need water for that too." Wen cut in, "And what's more, water is freedom. It can take you almost anywhere. Last I checked, that was why you were with me, my ship can take you wherever you want."

"Why else…"

 **oooooooooo**

After swimming and a few more rounds of dueling, they decided to spend the night there on the beach. It seemed very secluded, which was a good thing, considering the collective prize for their capture.

This time it was Wen's turn to sleep through the night and Azula was to keep watch. She found herself looking over to him more often than checking their surroundings. She told herself it was all to make sure he wasn't having nightmares again, but she was partly aware that wasn't true.

All she could think about was this remarkable person, she'd probably never see again after three days passed. There was no way he fit into her life or she in his. They both lived their lives surrounded by followers, there was no place for another leader there.

But something that was a bit unusual was that while she was certain in all that, the question kept coming back to her. Usually, when she ruled something out it was out of her mind, but the question of Wen kept looping back for whatever reason.

 _You really think he spends hours thinking about you?_

Azula heard something sounding like a mixture of several voices coming from somewhere in the dark. She lit a fire in her palm and looked around swiftly.

"Who's there?"

No people. No animals. Nothing.

 _It's HIM you should be worried about._

The voice was becoming more feminine.

"He's different!" she yelled and then looked back at Wen who turned to the other side, still asleep.

 _I'm only here to help you… darling._

"No! No, no, no, no…" Azula fell to the floor and covered her ears violently. She also closed her eyes because she recognized the way that last word sounded.

 _Because I love you, Azula._

Ursa's voice sent shivers down Azula's spine. She thought she was done with this. But obviously not.

She opened her eyes and saw her mother standing in front of her clear as day. How was she back at this?

 _Darling, how can't you see he's using you?_

"To what angle? No, he doesn't need me here for anything… I think he likes me." Azula promised herself she wouldn't engage with her hallucinations anymore, but she couldn't help it. She had to tell someone.

 _Likes you?_

Ursa snickered.

 _That's even more crazy than talking to someone who isn't here._

"I'm not crazy!" Azula was walking farther and farther way, trying to keep herself from waking Wen.

 _Azula, I'm telling you this because I love you… He is dangerous._

"Oh, you just don't like your daughter with a low-born. But I don't care. He's different." Azula looked back at where the pirate was sleeping, "He's not scared of me."

 _My darling, there is only one reason men come close to monsters. To slay them._

"Enough! Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about!" Azula screamed and sent a blast of fire towards where she saw her mother.

 **oooooooooo**

Wen was woken by screams and the smell of smoke. He twitched into a sitting position and looked around for his travelling companion. Instead he saw a part of the forest was on fire.

"Azula!" he jumped and ran right into the fire, bending a big wave of seawater to help him extinguish the fires.

After putting out the first few trees Wen laid eyes on Azula, kneeling on the ground with a burn on her arm. She was looking into the flames, mumbling something.

"Azula, who is it? Who attacked us?" he ran right for her and tried to help her up, but she jumped from him.

"No! This is all you! She put you up to it! She told you to get me alone and kill me!" Azula screamed and then threw some fire in his direction, which he easily avoided.

"Who is _she_?" Wen looked around in confusion. They were alone as far as he could tell.

"My mother, she told me you want to kill me. She knows because she hired you to do it!" Azula fell back laughing, "This was her plan! Oh, yes, yes… All along!"

Wen still wasn't sure what was happening, but he was beginning to piece together it had something to do with what he read about the Princess spending time in a mental institution.

"Tell me what else she's saying." Wen said and then turned around to put out the rest of the fire around them, knowing full well Azula could pounce at him from behind at any point. For some reason he just didn't think it could happen. She seemed like more of a danger to herself than to him.

"She's just saying you're dangerous over and over again…" Azula didn't know where to turn now that there was no fire anymore. Just darkness.

"Well, then do me a favor and tell her to piss off." he knelt right next to her, "If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't do it behind your back like a damn coward. Alright?"

"Right." she smiled at nothing, clearly not herself yet, but definitely calming down.

"Your hand. Can I see it?" Wen reached for it, but Azula pulled back again.

"Alright." he said, "No hands. No touching. Just water, OK?" He got a nod from Azula and slowly bended the water from his pouch up her arm and to her burn.

"How does that feel? Does it hurt?" he continued talking, seeing she was still struggling with something. As he waved his arms around, the water began glowing and at the same time Azula's burn started fading.

"See? All better." he removed the water, revealing a perfectly healthy-looking arm, "It won't even leave a scar."

She inspected the hand and turned away from him, sitting on the ground. Wen didn't know a lot about dealing with episodes like that, but at that moment he wished he did more than anything. In his unprofessional opinion, she seemed better when she was communicating with someone.

"Did you know that was my first successful attempt at healing someone?" he asked, but she didn't respond or show interest, "At the North Pole they only teach healing to girls and fighting to boys. Which, if you ask me, is a tragic waste of talent on their part. I ended up asking one of the girls that kind of fancied me to teach me, but I was dreadful. I could not heal a paper cut."

"How did you do it now?" Azula finally responded, tracing her finger over her perfectly healthy skin.

"I guess, you have to really want it," he said and she turned around, "And I really wanted you to be well again… So, what do you need? Sleep?"

"It'd be better if we just kept going." she got up.

"Some brisk, night air. Sounds good." he followed her lead.

They walked along the beach for a few minutes, before Wen got fed up with the awkward silence.

"I was thinking we expand the topics for our questions to the Fire Nation." he suggested, "I lived there for most of my life, I'll manage."

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not. I'll show you by walking all over you in your own category." he said smugly, "Bring it. It's your turn if I recall."

"If you're so impatient to lose… Avatar Roku's only daughter's name?"

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

Azula stopped for a second, seeing Zuko, Mai and Katara all made the same face.

"I'm not telling this, so you could feel sorry for me… I don't need or want your pity!" she snapped them out of it.

"We just…" Katara tried, "The war left marks on us all. We understand."

"You could never understand." Azula said, shutting Katara right up, "It used to get really bad, back in those days… While I was still alone. Wen helped, so does Zari, but-"

"Blah, blah…" Mai interrupted, horrifying Zuko and Katara, "Are we ever going to get to the good part?"

Zuko was just about to formally apologize for his wife when he saw Azula smile slightly. Oh, it was OK… That was just how they talked to each other. Mai was obviously allowed some liberties the rest of them weren't. He was certain anyone else who interrupted his sister like that wouldn't have a great time.

"Right, the good part." Azula looked to the sea, "That's still a little ways down the road…"

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

"What's the plan, thief?" Azula asked, but got no answer from Wen. They were currently both crouched in the bushes near a small village, hoping to get something to eat.

"What's the plan, _Wen_?" she corrected herself.

"Alright, well, the food's kept there, in that building." he pointed, "I know they have a fresh supply because that carriage in the back just delivered it. You go to the front, cause a distraction, while I sneak in the back and take as much as I can. We meet back here after. Sound good?"

"Not at all."

"I suppose we could change places if you want…"

"Not that," she pointed to the food carriage again, "That delivers the food from village to village, right? Why don't we just rob it, then? It has two people defending it."

"That's actually not bad."

"I thought you were supposed to be good at this…" she teased.

Next, they hid in the trees near the road, knowing the carriage would have to pass there. They weren't waiting long when their target came into their sights.

"What are we waiting for?" Azula whispered.

"I have another idea. Just wait." Wen watched the carriage slowly pass them and did nothing.

Azula wasn't quite sure if he knew what he was doing, but she realized his plan when he jumped out of their hiding place right behind the wagon and climbed aboard. She followed close after and soon they were both surrounded by the cargo, without the driver knowing a thing.

"See? Now we can eat and travel at the same time." he opened one of the boxes and pulled out a bagel.

"How much longer to this secret rendezvous of yours?" Azula asked while riffling through a box with pastries.

"What? You can't wait to get rid of me?" he joked, but little did he know Azula was thinking the exact opposite.

"I honestly don't mind you." she said, "Together we are… Formidable."

"Well, I think we're a great team too." his tone suddenly got serious, "That's why I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in joining my crew when we meet up with them. We could use a good firebender and you'd fit right in…"

"No, thank you. I'm not really a _joiner_." Azula said before even thinking about it. She was beginning to consider Wen as someone whom she'd want around, but she definitely wasn't about to set sail with his band of criminals.

"Oh, that's… Alright." It was obvious he was expecting a different answer.

What followed were a few awkwardly silent minutes, filled only with chewing from the both of them.

"If you think about it…" Azula started, feeling she had to make it right between them, "Do you really want an unstable firebender on a wooden ship?"

"If that firebender's you, then yeah, I do."

Azula chuckled at that, "You've known me, what? Two days?" trying to remind herself they were still mere acquaintances.

"It's enough. How long does it take to you to figure out a person? For most people it takes five, eight minutes… Ten at most. Am I close?"

She didn't tell him he was right, but she didn't have to since her face did it for her.

"I'm the same way. It's a useful skill for a man on the run, deciding whom to trust." saying that he reached for some water, but instead of drinking he made a swift motion that ended with him holding an icy dagger at her throat, "Knowing if a man has what it takes to cut your throat also is."

"What are y-" Azula could always go as far as to laugh with blades pointed at her, but this time her heart was pounding.

"You know how it's done, you look into the attacker's eyes and you see if they'd do it. Look and tell me if I could do it to you."

And Azula's eyes shifted from his hand to his face immediately. She was usually infallible at this, but she's been wrong about this pirate before. A couple times before, actually.

It was a highly useful skill indeed, knowing which of your enemies would do you in if you gave them the chance. Usually, if someone had the slightest shred of doubt in their mind Azula knew about it before even they did. They all had the same look, the look Wen was giving her right now.

It could have been a trick, it could have been a lie, but Azula couldn't deny what she saw. Her eyes said _bluff_ , no matter how cold the dagger was against her skin.

"No. No, you couldn't." she said quietly, and in one violent motion kicked the ice out of his hand and knocked him down onto his back. It was her turn to threaten him now, only her dagger was made of scorching, blue fire.

"Don't you ever pull a knife on me again!" As she held him down like that, she wondered what he saw. It was way easier to read another's intentions than it was to puzzle out your own. She didn't think she was bluffing, but, after all, there was only one way to be absolutely sure.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" he said calmly, "Now that you know it wouldn't do me any good."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Alright… This chapter I tried to paint a mild psychotic episode. I don't claim to know how to diagnose Azula, it could have been a million things that caused her breakdown in the show. My immediate instinct was schizophrenia, but she was a bit young for that, so I truly don't know. Also, doing research on mental illness is a special kind of nightmare… I didn't really find any general rules on how episodes like that work, aside from the fact that the voices are not supposed to say nice or constructive things. So that's what I focused on…**_

 _ **It's a world with dragons… Work with me.**_

 _ **I also really liked the idea of instead of Wen telling Azula he wouldn't hurt her a million times, he just let her see/feel how he couldn't. She didn't have to trust his words, but seeing is another thing. On why he wouldn't kill her… Guess, I thought of it as one of those: I don't empathize with people often, but when I do it's mad intense… For both of them.**_

 _ **Anyway, I'll continue next week. Reviews are VERY appreciated, so feel free to share your thoughts if you have the time…**_

 _ **If I remember correctly, the next chapter is an important one so stay patient…**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Roki Ineka**_ _ **– Thank you so much :)**_

 _ **As for the Gaang Kids stories I'm working on the third part currently, though, I'll probably work faster once my exams are finished…**_

 _ **I'm glad you're enjoying this one as well, I have kind of a love/hate relationship with it.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Anyway, here is another chapter…**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 5**

 **103 AG**

"We're really not going to discuss it?" Azula asked, taking advantage of a pause in her conversation with Wen. They were back on foot and walking down a long beach.

"Discuss what?"

"Last night."

"You mean the visit from Dear Old Mom?" he realized, "I don't really have anything more to say about it."

"Any normal person would." she couldn't believe she was bringing up the topic on her own, but for some reason she wanted to. He'd already tried to show her he wouldn't hurt her, but she was yet to offer an explanation for what came over her last night.

"I think we've already established that I'm not just any person. You're not the only one that has unresolved family stuff…"

"Let me try… Your parents didn't really like moving to the Fire Nation for you?"

"You don't get any points for that… That's obvious. I barely remember anything from before the Fire Nation, but they had to leave everyone and everything behind." Wen's words were positive, but his tone was angry.

"They took it out on you?"

"How about if I asked you what the deal was between your mother and you?"

"I have no problem answering that… My mother always hated me because I was naturally more like my father. She thought… Thinks I'm a monster beyond saving." Azula said, diverting her gaze to the sand they were walking on.

"Alright, that's harsh… Yeah, they took it out on me, blamed me. Especially, my mother. Dad would have, too, if he ever talked to me. They both acted like I enjoyed living a lie." Wen chuckled, "You know, Wen's not really my name… It's Kallik. I changed it when coming to the Fire Nation."

"That's horrible." Azula said directly before thinking it through, "What I mean is, I like Wen better. Is that why you didn't change it when you became a captain?"

"I thought about going by Kalli again. But it just felt wrong. All the people I met, all the things I did, I did as Wen. Kalli… It's from a life I could have had."

Azula tried her best to imagine how that situation must feel like, but she was having trouble. Her life was nothing like that. But then something strange happened… Wen's voice shivered a bit on the last word and it sent a cold dagger through her heart. She couldn't understand it, but she could feel it, right in that moment. The pain of it, the cold, the injustice.

It was exactly that unnamable feeling that had her distracted enough she almost didn't realize a knife flew right by her, missing her ear by less than an inch. In the time it took her to turn around, Wen, or should she call him Kalli now, had already engaged their attacker. The man didn't look like he was prepared for the scenario where his shot failed to hit its target, since Wen overpowered him immediately.

"Bounty hunter, looks like it." Wen concluded before searching the body, "You want to bet on which one of us he was after?"

"I…" she was surprised he wasn't even expecting a thank you for leaping to defend her, "I suppose it's me, since that fire last night might have caught his attention."

Wen didn't answer, he just presented the poster he found on the criminal. It was his face on it, although, by Azula's opinion, the drawing failed to capture just how handsome the captain was.

 **oooooooooo**

"That's not good." Wen said, looking into the distance. His eyes were fixated on a giant metal bridge in front of them. Or, more accurate, a giant, collapsed metal bridge.

"Let me guess, we were supposed to cross over that." Azula looked back at the pirate.

"That was the plan, yes."

"So what? There's a port a little further this way, we commandeer a ship and sail it to wherever we need to go." Azula suggested.

"We need more than two people to sail a ship." Wen sat down on the ground to think.

"Then we sneak onboard in the cargo. We can lay low for one night…"

"No, these parts are crawling with smugglers, they'll be checking the cargo."

"We can pose as crew members. We grab some uniforms and just walk in like we belong."

"It would need to be a big ship. Big enough for the captain to not know his whole crew."

After that the two of them searched the whole port from a safe distance, looking for a big enough ship. There was only one that fit their qualifications. The _Sea Princess._ A luxurious cruise ship for the unnaturally wealthy.

Azula was keeping track of the crew members' comings and goings, looking for a way in when Wen nudged her.

"Look. They seem about our sizes, no?" he gestured to a noble woman and her guard seemingly looking for something not far from them. The few trees gave them the perfect cover, the people were distracted and far enough away for it to work. Azula nodded to signal she was onboard. They walked a bit closer in silence.

"I'll go sweettalk her into showing me their passports." Wen moved in the woman's direction, but Azula stopped him.

"I don't think she'd want to talk to you." she whispered.

"Believe it or not, some women would call me very attractive." he said and saw Azula look him up and down. Of course, she agreed, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction…

"It's not that." Azula wanted to be delicate, but she didn't have much experience sparing others' feelings, "High-born women don't usually let people like you come close to them…"

"I get it. I don't exactly look like a noble." he looked over to the mustached guard, smoking a cigarette, "But I doubt I'm his type."

"I'll go."

"If you're not comfortable flirting, we can just use force to-" Wen didn't even finish his sentence, Azula already let her hair out of her bun and undid a few buttons on her shirt.

She walked out of their hiding place and called for the guard.

"Hey, Mister!" she had the most innocent smile while waving at the poor unsuspecting man, "It looks like I'm lost… Again!"

Azula said every word with such enthusiasm, her smile never wavering. She also brought the pitch of her voice as high as it could get without being painful to hear.

"Where do you need to go, Sweetheart?" Wen honestly didn't like how that man was speaking to fake Azula.

"Today my boss is like _I need you to pick up some passports from the port_ and he doesn't even give me a map or show me what those things look like. It's an impossible mission…" Azula played with a strand of her hair.

"The port's right over there by the sea…" the man pointed.

"Oh, yes, of course! I can be so silly sometimes… Thank you." she touched the man's arm, meaningfully, "But I'll still be in so much trouble if I don't find out what those passports look like…"

"I can show you." the guard offered.

"Oh, could you?! That would be like so humanitarian of you!"

The man smiled back and opened on of the bags he was guarding, taking out two passports. As soon as Azula saw their green color, she swung and knocked the man out with an elbow kick. She took the passports and brought them back to where Wen was hiding.

"When you undo that bun, you really undo that bun…" Wen was smirking in his usual manner.

"Shut up." she handed him the papers and he checked them.

"What have you done to Li?" the noble woman showed up behind them out of nowhere, "I'm calling for help!"

She barely finished her sentence before Azula knocked her out too.

"That was _like so humanitarian of you_!" Wen mocked and Azula shoved him.

"It's not my fault you guys like them dumb…" she pulled her hair back into a bun.

"That character was really good. How'd you learn that?"

"I went to an all-girls school… Growing up you quickly pick up on which girls get all the attention." she finished buttoning up her shirt.

"We don't all want girls like that." Wen's tone became serious.

"You don't all get girls like that. But you all want them. Admit it, if I was really that girl-"

"Listen, I had girls like that. It feels empty. If your little act was real I wouldn't want her around. I'm looking for something a bit different." he said meaningfully.

"Different how?"

"I'd show you, but I don't think you could handle it." he said and met her golden eyes. She suddenly realized how close they were standing.

"Perhaps you're the one that couldn't handle it." she said not breaking eye contact. She mostly just said it to counter him, but she soon realized it came out sounding like a dare, more than anything else.

Without missing a beat, Wen took a step forward, placing one of his hands on her neck. Azula usually had pretty quick reflexes, but she didn't manage to move or say anything before his lips crashed into hers, their bodies pressed together.

She didn't think he'd go through with it. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to, but she didn't think he would let emotions grab hold of him like that. She was also never so glad to miscalculate something in her life. He was one of the few people left who could genuinely surprise her.

Only after he pulled away did she realize she'd instinctively grabbed onto his shirt during the kiss.

"We should really-" she let go of his shirt and pulled away.

"Yeah, get dressed…" he walked towards the guard, since he had to take his clothes and dress up as him.

Azula looked after him for a moment, before moving behind a tree for cover. She started changing into the noble woman's clothes all the while replaying the kiss in her mind. She'd kissed people before, but nothing like that…

The first one was just to see how it felt. The second time the guy ran right after. This time, this time she actually understood what all the fuss was about. She wouldn't hate the idea of doing that again sometime.

Azula's thoughts were interrupted by a groan from where Wen was changing.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No, fine." the lying in his voice was audible.

"What now?" she walked out half-dressed to check up on him. His torso was exposed so she could clearly see a big slash on his lower abdomen. He was obviously trying to heal it with his bending, but it didn't seem to be working, judging by the volume of blood.

"It looks worse than it is." he said, "That bounty hunter got me with the knife, but I didn't think it would be a big deal."

"Well, can't you heal it up? We have to go."

"No. Looks like last night was a one-time thing." he gave up and returned the water to his pouch.

"Looks like I'll have to make it better for you." she took a couple of steps forward until she was standing all the way next to him, with her hand on his wound.

Taking the eye contact into consideration, Wen was certain he was in for another kiss.

"And how exac-" Wen's words morphed into a moan, when Azula's hand started burning his skin. It was more effective than a burning piece of metal, but he could have used a warning.

"That's a firebender's version of healing. No bleeding, no infection." she said and moved away to continue her dressing.

"Thanks."

 **oooooooooo**

The _Sea Princess_ was truly extravagant. The inside was so big it was almost possible to forget you were onboard a ship and not at some mansion with a _really_ good ocean view.

As Azula moved from one lavishly decorated room to another, she remembered her days at the palace. Back when she was still treated like the princess she was… Having people waiting on you hand and foot, it was nice, but it was a big giant lie. She realized that when she saw how fast all her people turned their back on her. And it was all the more apparent now, when simply a change of clothes gave it back.

"Enjoying ourselves, Princess?" Wen asked, seeing her looking around curiously, while they were being led to their room.

"Don't let my bags drag across the floor, you provincial scum!" she yelled, seeing a member of the staff was passing by in the hallway and then whispered, "Yeah, a little bit."

Unfortunately, their covers required them to separate for the majority of the trip. Azula, or rather her character, was given her own room while Wen was escorted to the part of the ship reserved for the help.

Azula knew that was how things were done, but it never bothered her. She never thought to question it before. But now that she gave it some thought, it was a bit outrageous to separate people for an almost random reason. Wen wasn't a noble, but he was remarkable, and putting him aside was just… foolish.

After taking that ridiculous Earth Kingdom outfit off, Azula put on a robe provided for her in the room and begun untangling her hair from the improvised hairstyle. She thought she'd be happy finally spending a night in a bed, after two days of this absurd trip. But she wasn't.

Somehow, she'd prefer to spend another sleepless night, watching over Wen or falling asleep with his face being the last thing she saw. There was also just a tiny bit of dread about the events of last night repeating. Azula knew that giving into those thoughts was never good, but she couldn't deny the fact it wasn't impossible.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"I'm not taking visitors at this hour!" she masked her voice to sound higher again.

"It's me." she heard Wen's voice from the other side.

She swiftly opened the door for him, but not before making sure she wasn't smiling because it was becoming a reflex with him involved.

"Come in." she pulled him inside, checking for any witnesses. People could get the wrong idea…

"I'm sorry for risking it by coming here," he started, "but I was put in a joined bedroom with a bunch of other servants and they're real chatty. With that many questions it was just a matter of time before I blew our cover."

"Good call." she said, kind of disappointed his reason for coming wasn't a little more personal.

"Nice room they set you up with." he looked around, "Mind sharing? I'll just take the floor, right here."

"Yeah, of course. I just need to survive through the dance they have planned for me tonight."

"Dance?"

"Yes, apparently this girl that I'm portraying signed herself up for some kind of cruise ship ball later tonight."

"I bet there'll be great food there. Bring back a little tart or something, will you…" Wen said disinterestedly and lied back on the covers of the bed.

"The problem is… We don't dance in the Fire Nation." she said.

"Not even in your royal gatherings and whatnot… Never?"

"I have never danced or witnessed the act in person."

"Alright…" he chuckled, "I guess, I could teach you some Earth Kingdom dances quickly."

He stood up and walked closer to her.

"It's kind of like dueling, but without the punches." he started his _lesson_.

"Then will my hair get in the way?"

"No, it's fine like that." he actually loved how she looked with her hair down, "No sudden movements like in fighting. Slow and smooth, like water. Give me your right hand and put the left at your hip."

She obeyed, but couldn't help, but feel ridiculous, doing all that jumps and waves for no apparent logical reason. Wen claimed it felt better with music, but she wasn't so sure.

She usually picked things up pretty quick, but at that moment she was a bit distracted, seeing that every one of those moves included some form of physical contact with him. She tried to focus on learning, but her mind just kept fixating on how close their bodies were again.

 **oooooooooo**

"Yes, yes, yes… Absolutely perfect. That was the one." Wen commented, watching Azula's performance from the floor. Spirits, she was beautiful…

"I think I did well with the time we had." she sat down next to him on the floor, "If you really know what you're doing."

"Of course, I do. You have to know Earth Kingdom dances if you want to sneak into anywhere fancy."

"So how did you learn?"

"One of my old girlfriends." he paused, "I was just a kid when I left the Fire Nation, but I can't believe you people never dance. Not even on dates, when no one's watching?"

"I think you actually have to be invited on one to know that…" Azula said and looked down at her lap to straighten her robe.

"Well, you're the princess. You probably had a pretty sweet engagement planned before you could even walk."

"Yes, to this boy named Tak. He was from a good family and we were born in the same week, so our parents agreed on it before we were even one year old."

"Did you ever even meet him or was that reserved for the wedding night?" Wen asked, realizing he might be flirting with the line of what she wanted to share.

"A few times. I think we were eight when we first saw each other, but I always knew I was marrying him, it was just a fact of life."

"Was he at least fun?"

"Imagine the most timid, little boy in existence. A non-bender, all pale and scrawny."

"Oh, no..." Wen chuckled, "What did little Azula do to that poor boy?"

"Only thing little Azula ever wanted to do... Firebended at him. And pulled his hair. And pushed him in the dirt. And told him his parents abandoned him and he had to live with us now."

Azula didn't know what kind of a reaction she expected, but laughing wasn't it.

"To be fair, that last one is kind of his fault for being so gullible." he said.

"That's what I told my mother!"

"So, are you still technically engaged to him?"

"No," Azula's stopped smiling, "Tak was killed in the war. He came to say goodbye to me before going, he went into his first battle and died."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry, I brought it up." Wen frowned too.

"No… I didn't even like him. And he hated me. He was so terrified when he was around me. I swear he was more afraid of talking to me than going off to war. And I tried to be nice that last time, but even when we were kissing he shook like a leaf…"

"What?" Wen's smile was back.

"We were at that age when everyone was kissing each other, and I wanted to know what it was like. He was going to be my husband anyway, I didn't see the harm in it. But I did have to order him to do it."

Azula stopped when she saw Wen's uneasy expression.

"Relax, I know that was wrong," she continued, "Even I knew it didn't feel right that way."

Azula rarely regretted things that weren't a result of bad reasoning. If it made sense for her to do that with the information she had at the time, then she really didn't have a choice. But for the last few days she found Wen influencing her thoughts and decisions in the most surprising of ways.

"I'm not proud of my first kiss either. This older girl wanted to get back at her boyfriend for cheating on her and I was there, being passably cute."

Azula couldn't imagine Wen at any age being described as just _passably_ cute.

"Well, I employed a change of tactics next time. I was at a party where no one knew who I was, acting like a completely different person and it worked. A guy actually wanted to kiss me, he just ran the moment I started acting like myself again..."

"What an idiot… Tell me that guy got a little taste of you fire too."

"In a way… And that brings us to earlier today."

"Seriously, that's all?"

"I've lived a sheltered and focused life. I had no time for distractions."

"Well, it would take a lot more time for me to summarize my past. There was a time when I thought bedding as many women as I could would make me a man. But if we're talking genuine connections, then we're in the same situation."

"I suppose we're an acquired taste."

"I would call us a delicacy few know how to enjoy. You know… It's all in the eye of the beholder." Wen scooched closer to her and looked right into her eyes, "Azula…"

"Yes?" she responded, focused on his hand that passed through a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"You were right…" he smiled slightly, keeping his palm on her cheek, "I can't handle it. Would you like to-"

She interrupted by closing the distance between them and Wen adjusted immediatelly.

He was kissing back! Azula simply couldn't believe, after everything she told him, after everything he saw, he still wanted her. She decided to push everything else out of her mind, like their kiss was the only thing in the world. Their lips met gently this time, but slowly the kiss grew deeper. Azula could feel one of his hands on her lower back, pulling her closer, while she let her hands rest on his shoulders.

There was a nervous knock on the door, pulling both of them back to reality.

Wen was the first to remember why they were here, so he stood up and answered the door.

"The Lady was expected at the dance ten minutes ago." the knocker said.

"Listen, here, boy." Wen started, "The Lady will not be attending. She is a bit under the weather due to the motion of the ship."

"Sir, I had no idea…" the man's face showed concern, "If there is anything we can do to help…"

"No need. I'm tending to her, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Off you go."

"Of course, Sir. Do give the Lady our sincerest apologies."

"Will do." Wen said and slammed the door in the man's face. He knew that wasn't according to their plan, but as soon as he turned around and saw Azula's face he knew he made the right call.

" _I'm tending to her_?" she quoted.

"I believe the best lies are those that hold a little bit of truth."

She stood up and paced towards him, slowly realizing, not only were they definitely admitting their attraction to one another, they were alone in a room with nowhere to be until tomorrow morning.

When she was close enough, Wen placed both his hands on her waist and locked eyes with her.

"You're not just doing this because I'm Princess Azula from your books?" she whispered close to his lips.

"No… We're way past that."

"Good." she must have believed him because she crashed her lips right back onto his after that. Their make out session was incredibly advance for someone who said they only kissed two people prior to this, but Azula seemed extremely motivated and appeared to be pushing them towards the bed.

"Considering you've never-" Wen tried to get in a sentence between kisses.

"Don't think about that. I'm a quick study, it'll be fine." she brushed off his concern.

"Did you maybe change your mind about staying with me then?"

"No." she unbuttoned his shirt in a hurry.

"So we're separating tomorrow… That won't make you feel… Used?"

He wished to all the Spirits he could just shut up, but he had to make sure… He was slowly picking up on the fact that Azula hated confronting her emotions even more than he did, and instead preferred setting fire to things afterwards…

"No… Will it make you feel used?" she smirked.

He answered with a hungry kiss and felt Azula start to undo his belt.

"Slow down…" he whispered into her ear, "You're not gonna say the wrong thing, not gonna scare me away… I'm not going anywhere. Tonight belongs to us."

Azula nodded and they were lying on the bed intertwined in no time.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"Hey, I don't want to hear that!" Zuko interrupted.

"You asked for it." Azula smirked.

"Yeah, but I didn't-"

"You asked me to tell you about how I met my husband. You didn't think there'd be intimate moments? I had his child, Zuko. How did you think that came to be? By talking?"

"Well, no. I just don't want to hear about how my sister-"

"Relax, Zuko. She's messing with you." Mai cut in, obviously entertained by how uncomfortable Zuko was. Judging by her expression, Katara was also having fun.

"Oh, I see… Very funny."

"I'm glad you think so, brother." Azula smiled and continued the story, skipping over any parts that might be… Inappropriate.

 **oooooooooo**

 **103 AG**

After they were done, Wen fell asleep almost immediately, but not before placing a kiss on Azula's forehead and pulling her into his embrace.

She laid there awake, with her head on a sleeping man's chest, contemplating the position she caught herself in. There she was, four years after she lost everything, one year after she was on her own, and she finally thought she understood what people meant to each other. How all one really needed to stay sane was a single person who genuinely wasn't terrible.

This connection she had with this pirate would have sounded insane to her just a week ago, but now all she could think about was how it was about to end before she even got to explore it. Wen already had something to return to, unlike her.

It didn't take long for her to decide she wasn't going to let this go without further research. The best-case scenario for her at this point would be if Wen's crew simply didn't show up. She thought there was a fair chance of that happening on its own, but she still wasn't taking any risks. She was going to make Wen think they left him, no matter what really happened.

The only way she could do that was if she stayed awake and snuck off the ship as soon as they made port. Now that she had a clear objective, she could let herself enjoy the rest of the night by Wen's side.

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Anyway, here you have it…**_

 _ **This romance finally becomes a romance... I could have streatched it out even longer, but I didn't really think it neccessary.**_

 _ **Azula admits she likes a boy, but is not ready to share him.**_

 _ **I know I promised action and violence in the summary and you shall have it, just you wait...**_

 _ **Anyway, if you're enjoying this stay tuned, check out my other stories and, of course, leave a review if you have the time :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **103 AG**

Azula blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room. She'd just woken up and since the first thing she could make out was a person's arm, she jerked away instinctively.

"Hey… It's OK. It's just me." Wen said calmly, "Bad dreams?"

"No, I'm just not used to waking up next to someone." she rubbed her eyes, "Were you ever going to wake me?"

She was slowly realizing she fell asleep while waiting for them to make port. There was no way she could keep him and his crew apart now. If he was right, and they were indeed waiting for him, she'll just have to say goodbye to him. Possibly forever…

"We definitely have another hour. I thought you could use it after two days of not sleeping." he was sitting on the bed half-dressed, fixing small braids in his hair that got disheveled last night. It was quite a captivating sight.

"You're doing that wrong." Azula smiled and moved to straddle him, so she could do it instead of him.

"Didn't you have servants to do your hair?" Wen asked.

"I did, but in the last year I've expanded my expertise. I am now very self-sufficient… Hold still." she finished and lowered herself back onto his lap, so they were face to face, "All done. What are you grinning about?"

"Just how lucky I am I decided to board your ship." he leaned forward and kissed her.

In the light of day, it somehow felt even more right…

"I don't usually say this to women straddling me," he started, "But can you put some clothes on? So we can leave..."

"Well, I remember you saying we have an hour," she cupped his face with both hands, "And there are a lot of activities we could engage in to fill the time…"

Seeing her suggestion was met with a warm welcome, she started kissing him. Just as he was slowly making his way down her neck, they heard a knock.

"Who in the world is it?!" she yelled all the way from the bed, not even trying to mask her voice anymore.

"Ma'am, you were supposed to vacate the room half an hour ago." a voice was heard from the other side of the door.

"Sorry, beautiful… We have to move." Wen whispered and stood up from the bed to look for his shirt and water pouch.

"I'll be right out!" Azula yelled at the man outside and stood up to put something over her undergarments.

"I'll get out through the window, so you can walk out peacefully." Wen opened the window to assess the fall into the water.

"Not a chance. I'm not dressing up again. We go together."

Wen nodded and they both jumped into the shallows from the window. It was a bit early in the morning to be wet, but it was the fastest way out.

After Wen dried them both, he dragged Azula to a remote part of the port where his rendezvous point was.

"Here, right around the corner…" he pointed and made the turn only to stop and stand there motionlessly. Azula followed him and quickly realized what made him freeze like that. There was no ship there. She stood right next to Wen so she could study his face as he realized his friends weren't there waiting for him.

This was it. This was what Azula wanted. This was the best possible outcome for her, yet somehow, she felt truly terrible seeing the look of betrayal on Wen's face. A look she knew all too well. This felt so profoundly awful, even she couldn't find the words, so she reached out and took his hand into hers slowly.

"Listen, Wen, I'm sorry they-" If there was any way she could will them into showing up she would have.

"Something must have happened… They must have run into trouble. They'd never…" he still stared into the water where his ship was supposed to be.

Denial. She was familiar with that as well.

"That's what they do… But you're not alone at least." after she said that he squeezed her hand back, but he still didn't look away from the water.

"I just don't understand why."

"You don't need them, you'll get a new ship. I'll help, the two of us are unstoppable." she realized her words weren't exactly working, "I understand how you feel, I really do."

He turned to her, trying to keep a small smile up. She had what she wanted, then why did it hurt? He'd get over it eventually, wouldn't he? If he felt something for her, then he'd get better with time…

Wen's gaze suddenly moved from Azula's face to something behind her.

"Captain!" Azula heard a woman's voice and immediately turned to recognize Wen's first mate in a black cloak hurrying towards them. Azula let go of Wen's hand, simply because she didn't want to be the last one to let go.

A few seconds later the woman, Shi, jumped at Wen and hugged him. That was hardly necessary…

"You dumb bastard, I thought you were dead!" she shoved Wen after ending the hug.

"Disappointed?" he joked, "What did you do with my ship, Shi? Is it at the bottom of the ocean?"

"We got recognized and had to hide it." she explained, "But everything is in tip-top shape, Cap. Just like you left it."

"Wait, is it in tip-top shape, or how I left it?" he smirked.

"And I didn't expect to be seeing you back here, dollface." Shi turned to Azula, "Although, I should have known. Cap can't resist bringing in strays… Or a pretty face."

"Actually, Shi," Wen interrupted, "Azula just wants a solo sail boat and she'll be out of our hair."

"Not staying, Miss Blue? Too bad."

As Shi led them along the shore to a remote beach, all Azula could think about was how she still wasn't convinced this was happening. She was still ready for it all to turn out to be a trap for Wen at any second. Who knew, maybe she hoped it would…

Wen and Shi walked side by side, joking, while Azula trailed behind them looking around for the slightest indication of treachery. There was no way they actually…

Then they noticed the ship in the distance. Those people were actually waiting for him, even after being almost captured twice. But seeing as she came back for Wen too, when faced with that choice, she shouldn't have been surprised. He seemed to have that effect.

"Yeah, yeah, you know me… Hard to kill." Wen said after a loud cheer following him climbing onboard his ship again, "You all remember Princess Azula, don't you?"

And just like that all eyes on the ship where on Azula, and she didn't really know how to react. She was used to adoring crowds, that was not the problem, she just felt awfully out of place there.

"Told you! He's alive, pay up!" one of the crewmen yelled, causing another, his twin by the looks of it, to throw three coins over to him with a scowl.

"But they're together, which means you owe me." the other one claimed. Azula watched as the transaction repeated in the opposite direction and looked over to Wen, confused.

"These are Jin and Hai. The only thing they love more than taking money from unsuspecting victims, is taking it from each other in little bets." the Captain explained, before turning to his men, "Hai, I hope you're not overly attached to that gold, since Azula's not staying with us."

"Cap, you're killing me." the man rolled his eyes, having to give two coins back to his brother.

 **oooooooooo**

After about thirty minutes of Wen ensuring his crew that yes, she was really leaving, and no, they weren't _together_ together, Azula's sail boat was ready for travel. Wen met her on the beach, to say his goodbyes, she presumed.

"Are you sure we can't take you to the Fire Nation?" he asked, "It's really the least we can do."

"We're not even going that way!" Shi yelled from the ship, before Azula could answer.

"Private conversation here, Shi!" Wen yelled back, and the woman started tying some ropes or something like that.

"It's really not necessary." Azula said, "I'll just continue along the coast, see what I run into that can be useful."

"Do you know how to sail the boat?"

"Yes, Hai taught it to me."

"I'm Jin!" they had another interruption from the deck of the ship.

"Can everyone mind their own business, please?!" Wen was getting pissed, but took a deep breath before turning back to Azula, "Good luck with your plan."

The tension around them was palpable, but neither of them was going to acknowledge it.

"I think I might have to rethink the plan."

"Oh."

Yeah, it was official. After three days of non-stop debating, joking, teasing and one night of intimacy, they have spontaneously lost the ability to keep a conversation going.

"Well, in case you ever want to change your name and stop running, I know people." he added.

"Yes, you hid Kallik down pretty good." Azula turned towards the water, "Goodbye."

"Wait." Wen stepped closer.

"Alright… Captain Wen, you are the Unrivalled Expert in Human Nature."

"I didn't mean… You don't have to, we're way past that."

"But I mean it." she said reluctantly. She felt the words, it was just hard admitting.

"Then so are you."

"That's paradoxical."

"Everything about us is paradoxical." he smiled and put out his hand, "It was an honor fighting with you."

Azula wasn't really used to greeting someone with a handshake, but she decided to play along. She put out her hand, but instead of gripping her palm, Wen clasped her whole forearm and she mirrored.

Azula was the first one to let go again, because if she was going to be separated from Wen, she was going to do it on her own terms. She boarded her boat and slowly sailed away, down the coast, trying her best not to look back.

 **oooooooooo**

Wen was soon informed by his first mate that they needed some more time for restocking, so there was nothing for him to do except relax and slowly dissect every part of the last three days in his mind. If only he knew he'd like her earlier. He would have been less crude when they met… If only he knew she'd have that episode. He would have stayed up with her.

If he knew they'd end up going their separate ways, he would have stayed up the whole three days to not miss a second.

Wen was sitting alone in his cabin, correcting some facts in the third book in his _History of the Fire Nation Royal Family_ , when Shi busted in.

"What are you doing?" she asked like she was scolding him.

"Nothing. What, you the captain now?" he joked, but that tone wasn't a usual occurrence.

"Pining is what you're doing… I need you to listen to me." she leaned over his seat and looked intensely into his eyes, "We've known each other for a long time now, haven't we, Wen?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Yes, we've known each other since I was flat as a board and you sounded like a squeaky, little girl. I know you better than any of them out there, so I hope you'll listen to my advice." she backed off a bit, seeing he was confused.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"That girl. The Princess."

"Don't, Shi…"

"Look, I'm not as smart as you, Mister Knows-How-To-Write, but I'm not stupid either. You really like her, don't you?"

"What are you, twelve?" he stood up.

"I'm not the one embarrassed I like a girl… You know what the chances of you running into her again are? Almost nothing! And let's say by some miracle the almighty Spirits bring you together once again. She could be in prison, or married, or dead…"

"I know all that… I asked her to join us and she said no. There's nothing I can do if she doesn't want me."

"Oh, poor, poor Wen… That's where you're wrong. She said _no_ to the crew, she never said _no_ to you. Did you by any chance ask her if you could come along with her to wherever?"

Wen looked to the side, thinking.

"You didn't?" Shi smirked.

 **oooooooooo**

A. Alone. Separated from others.

B. Betrayed. Treacherously abandoned, deserted, or mistreated.

C. Confused. Unable to think clearly…

Azula hoped that getting some physical distance between her and the pirate would help her clear her mind. But it didn't. She was never the type to miss people. Whatever their role in her life was she knew they could be easily replaced. In the case of her parents, she even found that her life without the both of them was far better.

But it was different with Wen. Everything was with him.

Taking all the men in the world into account, the odds of finding someone with the same intellect and good looks, paired with the appropriate age and range of interests, seemed impossible. Not to mention that other person would also have to show an interest in her… Thinking about it, Azula concluded the odds really didn't look good.

But the idiotic thought she just couldn't shake was that even if the next person she met was a man matching her standards exactly, she wouldn't be interested. Maybe she could run into Wen again? She already did twice in one day… But the world is enormous with opportunities for a bitter end at every turn.

The sooner she faced that she'd never see him again, the better.

Azula took a deep breath and started pulling on the ropes of the sail boat, just like the other pirate showed her. She was having some problems with one of them, connected to the sail, so her boat lost in speed.

She was pulling as hard as she could without actually damaging the ship, when she felt it suddenly get easier. She turned around and saw Wen standing on the boat next to her, pulling with her. She said nothing, just pulled one more time with him and the sail immediately moved in the way she wanted it to.

She didn't even notice him waterbending his way to her, it was like he heard her thinking about him. Missing him, after only minutes…

"Why did you think I'd need help?" she asked finally.

"I didn't." he said meaningfully.

Azula thought she should let him explain what he wanted first, but all that led to were a couple of long seconds of staring into each other.

"Here's your problem," Wen started to change the subject, and grabbed one piece of the sail, "See, this is pointed like you want to turn the boat back around."

"I do." she said.

It took them both a moment of thinking to realize they were on the same page, but it all ended in a passionate kiss. Azula wasn't really sure who stepped forward first, Wen or her, but she'd be lying if she didn't admit kissing him again felt good. Probably even better because she was convinced for a few minutes, she'd never get a chance to again. She could swear she felt electricity run through her body like when she was generating lighting.

"I just came to ask," Wen pulled away from her lips just far enough to speak, "If you wanted some company while rethinking the plan…"

"An alluring offer…" Azula answered, keeping her hands around his neck, "But I actually thought a lot about my current situation and I've concluded that joining an alliance wouldn't be the worst thing for me at this moment."

"You're serious?"

"If the offer to join the crew still stands…"

"Yes. Yes, it does. We have an extra cabin." he paused, "Although, you're welcome in mine."

"I can imagine there's a whole position on the ship for the Captain's harlot."

"As much as I wish I could have you all to myself, everyone onboard contributes. So we'll find something you can help with. The seas are a good place to rediscover yourself."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **I know this one was a little short, I hope I can make it up with the next one…**_

 _ **Anyway, finally, we got to the part where we get to see Wen and Azula as a couple. We'll be doing some time jumping from now on, just to keep it entertaining. And to get to Zari finally. I'm not sure why, but the concept of Azula as a mother entertains me...**_

 _ **Uploading on the same day every week has been kind of unusual for me, but I'm proud for sticking with it for this long. Sadly, I think I'll be a little (or a lot) late with next week's chapter, but don't give up, follow if you're interested. I'm just talking a few days here...**_

 _ **As always, share your thoughts if you have them :)**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Alright, turns out I had time to finish this since I sorted some real-life stuff out.**_

 _ **Thanks for the reviews and follows.**_

 _ **Just a quick reminder in 104 AG Azula would be 19, so a little time jump, just a year.**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 7**

 **134 AG**

"There you have it." Azula said like she was finishing and turned to walk away from the railing.

"No, that's not all…" Zuko said after her.

"That's most of it." she sighed, "Look, I'm not here to entertain you… I need to find Zari and go over the rules with him once again."

"He'll be fine. I promise." Zuko said.

"When I was down there," Katara cut in, "The kids were trying to stack as many things over Sokka as they could without waking him up. They're getting along so I think we should just let them be."

"Wait, I thought Toph was down there-" Zuko was interrupted.

"Who do you think gave them the idea?"

"Alright." Azula surrendered, "What do you want to hear?"

"What happened next?" Mai asked.

"I lived with Wen and his… Mates. They were not as bad as I'd previously thought. For the next year no one really expected anything of me. I assisted them in stealing here and there, but we mostly just… Enjoyed ourselves." Azula smiled suddenly, warmer than any of them thought it possible, "And I've never had that. Before or since."

 **oooooooooo**

 **104 AG**

There was a knock on Li's office door. He was confused since one did not just knock on the door of the Western Trading Company's, Earth Kingdom Division's Manager. Or at least he thought so, the job was only his for a week.

The middle-aged man got out of his chair to check on his unexpected visitor or visitors, and maybe even more important, to check on his guards who were supposed to stop this kind of thing from happening.

"Can I help you?" Li asked after peeking his head through the door and spotting a shifty-looking Water Tribe man and a pale woman, both armed to the tooth.

"You the new boss?" the man asked.

"Ye-Yes…" Li felt compelled to say.

"Good. I'm Captain Wen. Thank you for having us…" Wen shoved the man into the room and let himself and Azula in like they owned the place.

"Excuse me, but who are you? Where are my guards? And what- Why are you here?" Li seemed more than a little confused, so Wen put a hand on his shoulder and smiled wide.

"Easy… What was your name again?"

"Li."

"Li, this is my beautiful girlfriend, Azula. She's amazing, just… Between you and me, a little fiery. She was… Not on good terms with the last guy in this office."

For the entire time they were there Azula had done nothing, but stare coldly into Li's eyes. He finally met her gaze and suddenly started wondering why this position was vacant in the first place.

"I… I don't understand… I-"

"Easy…You see, it is on the two of us right now to keep Azula happy. Because if she's not…" Wen whistled for effect, "This whole place could be ashes in minutes."

"Seconds." Azula spoke up. Li thought her not speaking was threatening. Now he missed it.

"Thank you, love." Wen turned briefly to his girlfriend then back at the already sweating man, "You get that. We need to keep her happy. You gonna help me there, Li?"

"Um… Yeah."

Azula had to fight really hard not to smile, seeing how scared he was.

"Perfect." Wen gestured to a chair and Li immediately sat down, "There is nothing my Azula loves more than a safe and well protected community. So why have you, Western Trading Company's, Earth Kingdom Division's Manager, stopped paying your safety fee?"

"Safety fee?"

"The little column marked miscellaneous. It's for the safety of your ships and crew. There are a lot of pirates in these waters, you know? There's no telling what they could do if they got the chance. I hear that at this very moment one of your galleons is sinking to the bottom of the ocean."

"Not the _Wave Fury_!"

"Oh, right… That's the one."

"Sir! I… I'll do whatever- You can't… It's illegal to pay people for-"

"Oh, yes… You're an honorable man, Li. You'd never break the law." Wen nodded, "But I did hear that some of your ships have orphaned children working on it for no pay, which confused me so, since I thought that was illegal. Azula?"

"It is." she said and walked closer to Li and stood behind him. He didn't dare turn, but he could feel her eyes on him from the back.

"So you are willing to bend the law when it suits you…" Wen added, "And how do you feel about Li exploiting little defenseless kids, love?"

"It makes me livid." Azula said and grabbed Li's throat with one hand. She didn't actually do anything to him, she just made her palm a little warmer, giving him a preview of the sort of face redecorating she could get into if the mood struck her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Alright?" Li screamed. He knew yelling for help was useless since his guards were nowhere to be found.

"You see? Now you've upset her." Wen said and Azula let go of the man's neck, "But there is a way we could all become friends, just like we were with the last manager. Would you like that, Li?"

The man nodded.

"Excellent. You pay us the fee, you stop using children, you tell your crewmen we'll be stopping a few shipments here and there to take cargo with us for _safety inspections_ and all is well."

"How much do you-"

"It's all in the books. Take a good look when we leave. And remember, if you miss even one payment…"

"I'll be back." Azula lit a small flame on the tip of her two fingers, "Alone."

 **oooooooooo**

"You were right." Wen said when him and Azula were out of that building, "You work better as the silent one."

"I told you."

"And I loved the way you said _livid_ … Say it again." Wen smirked.

" _Livid_." Azula repeated in her most threatening voice and then smiled proudly.

"Breathtaking." Wen said and pulled her face closer for a hungry kiss.

"How much do you think that idiot will end up paying us?" she asked.

"He'll freak out when he realizes there is no miscellaneous column… So I think he'll be pretty generous in his guess. We scared him pretty good."

"I just hope he doesn't resign like the last guy. Or throw himself off a bridge or something…" Azula rolled her eyes. The weaklings you had to deal with to get some supplies around here…

"If he does, we sell the same story to the next guy. We can do anything…" Wen stopped shortly, focusing on Azula's eyes. He would do unspeakable things just to see that little spark in there she got when she was excited about something.

"We should go. I'm sure the others are done with the ship already… They're probably waiting for us." she took his hand and started pulling towards the shore.

"Race?"

"Are we five?"

"Scared?"

"Fine. We need to establish the finish line… And what kind of start we'll be using. Crouching or medium or-" she was interrupted.

"I don't know… What kind of start is this?" Wen smirked and started running across the field towards the beach where their ship was waiting. Azula was just about to follow him when she realized her shoes were frozen to the ground. The bastard!

Wen really thought he had a big enough head start but when he was in the middle of the field he noticed Azula was close to taking the lead thanks to a few pushes from her firebending.

Another stream of fire brought her forward just enough to be ahead of him. Realizing he was getting tired, Wen decided to use all his strength to jump forward and tackle Azula.

After some rolling around on the ground, they finally settled down, lying face to face, him on top of her.

"Cheater." she said.

"Cheater." he said.

And they kissed, long and hard, until Azula spoke up.

"We should really get going…"

"I know what you're-" Wen didn't even have time to finish before she pushed him off and continued running towards the shore. He knew she'd do that. She always did love winning.

"Come on, Captain!" she yelled and he started running too.

"I forfeit! Stop! Azula, stop! Just stop!"

 **oooooooooo**

"Just stop packing!" Wen closed the door to his cabin, like that would prevent their argument from being heard by almost everyone else on the ship, "Talk to me…"

"I thought I did. I'm leaving, there is nothing you can do…" Azula was pacing around what was their joined room for more than a year now, collecting her belongings in a small travel bag.

"I don't want to _do_ anything, I just want to understand what is happening."

"I told you. I have to go. If I don't do it now, I may never leave."

"You see, you just said that like you were saying _I may never wake up_."

Azula paused to think for a few seconds.

"Those two are the same to me." was what she finally settled on.

"Oh, so being with me is like death…" Wen felt like he pulled something, trying to make his sarcasm apparent, "I have become the one who ferries deceased souls to the Spirit World!"

"You don't understand." she rolled her eyes.

"You're right, I don't." he said and started picking up her shirts from the wardrobe.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you pack. You're leaving, right?" he put the shirts in her bag, "Please help me understand."

Azula looked like she was thinking about it, but no words were coming out.

"Because I felt like everything was pretty much perfect." he continued packing with her and it seemed to calm the situation, if only by a little, "We like each other. We are as good together in the field as we are in bed. And everything in between… We just work. But if there's something you have a problem with-"

"It's not all about you. Have you even conside-"

"Do you want the black or the brown cloak?" he interrupted, holding each of her options in one hand.

"The black."

She watched as Wen carefully folded the black cloak and put it on the top of the bag.

"It's too much." she added.

"Then tell me what overwhelms you?"

"Why are you doing this? Knowing won't change anything." Azula closed her bag.

"Because the fact that you won't talk to me about whatever is happening to you makes me think it's something really bad. You're not one to hold back to avoid hurting my feelings. If it's the voices again-"

"Maybe I'm just bored of you…" That was probably the worst-told lie of Azula's entire life.

"If it's too much, we can take a break, but you shutting down on me like this is really worrying." Wen took her hands into his, "I love you. And I understand saying that for the first time while trying to make the point that we can make things less serious is stupid, but… I do."

Hearing that made Azula about a hundred times more confused about everything.

She knew he did. It was implied. The loving. But it was always implied with her. Her dad implied it a lot, but never said it. Her friends too. The only one she ever heard say those words to her was her mother, and that just felt obligatory. This moment was different.

"I have to leave, because I need you." she said finally.

"Again, love, you're saying that with the severity and intensity of someone saying _I need that medicine to survive_ …" Wen softened his expression, seeing she was at least trying to communicate out her emotions.

"I'm sorry." she pulled her hands back, "I really am. I wish it wasn't like this."

"No, no… You're a grown woman, you can go wherever you damn well please…" he threw himself into his chair as she neared the door, "Close it on your way out, would you?"

He looked away and she quietly left.

 **oooooooooo**

Azula had to admit to herself, the first two nights weren't easy. After leaving the crew, and him, she checked into a little inn by the shore to think about her next steps.

Loneliness was never a problem for her before, but this time she could feel it wrap around her like a sheet and squeeze until it hurt. Being truly alone for the first time in a while brought out old fears of her hallucinations returning.

To her great relief, this time Azula didn't hear any voices. Not real ones, not in her head. It was just silence. Crushingly painful silence.

After about a week she decided it was time for her to move on from this place and start living this new life she left Wen for. She was packing when she heard a familiar voice in the hallway.

"What? You think you're better than me?!" a woman's voice shrieked form the hallway outside her room, "You wanna go, bitch?! I'll knock that baby right out your hands!"

After hearing that, Azula was certain the voice belonged to Wen's first mate, Shi. She peeked into the hallway to make sure, but the two women spotted her immediately. It wasn't that spacious an establishment…

"Oh, here you are…" Shi was relieved to see Azula's face finally.

"Ming, you know this… Young lady?" Azula's neighbor asked, not even trying to conceal her judgement.

"No, of course not." Azula answered, slapping on a huge fake smile, "Let me give you some money, drifter. Follow me."

She showed Shi to her room and the woman followed. By the smell Azula concluded Shi was at least a little drunk, which was usually the constant state of everyone in the crew. Everyone except Wen. He always- No! She shouldn't start…

"What are you doing here, yelling at my neighbors?" Azula asked once they were inside her room and safe from prying eyes. She certainly didn't want everyone knowing how much money they could get for turning the two of them in.

"You said it yourself, Miss Blue… Yelling at your neighbors. That's what I'm doing…"

"Whatever Wen sent you here to tell me, I'm not int-"

"He didn't send me! I do what I want, and I wanted to talk to you, but the damn receptionist refused to show me to your room. She just said it was number _fifteen_. And I don't know that one. I don't know five, I just know ten…"

"You really should learn how to read, for instances such as this one." Azula said, "How do you even use money?"

"There's pictures on money… So who's the idiot now?" Shi mumbled and fell to Azula's couch, "I need your help, Miss Blue."

"You know, Azula is quite alright. And I'm not part of the crew anymore."

Shi chuckled dismissively.

"Once one of us, always one of us."

Azula should have been annoyed at this sudden intrusion, and on some shallow level she was, but she was also kind of glad Shi still wanted to talk to her after how she walked out on her friend.

"Wen's in big trouble, Azula." Shi's voice got serious, like she sobered up all of a sudden, "I can feel it. We can't find him. We think someone took him, but there's no way to know if it was just some jealous pirate or the guard or what else…"

"And what'd you want me to do about it?" Azula sighed, "He's probably somewhere out there drinking himself into oblivion."

"Like you left the poor man a choice…"

Azula couldn't help but take offense at that comment. What did Shi think, that this was only hard on Wen? That he was the only one suffering, not knowing what to do next…

"Well, since you always cared for him so much, why don't _you_ go find him? Maybe now he'll finally go for you since I'm gone." Azula stopped after getting a confused look, "Oh, don't pretend… I noticed you looking at us together. I know jealousy when I see it."

"For a smart broad, you got it all mixed up, Miss Blue… It wasn't you I wanted to trade places with. It was Wen."

"Oh." Azula was silent as a lot of things she'd noticed suddenly fell into perspective. She wondered for a second if Wen noticed his best friend had a crush on his girl.

Then it dawned on her. If Shi wasn't here on Wen's orders, or to gloat, then she must really be worried for her Captain. What if he really had been taken? But what were the odds… Wen was too careful, too skilled to be captured just like that.

"Now will you help me go look for that idiot, or not?" Shi stood up.

Azula found it humorous how Shi, of all people, insulted Wen's intelligence.

"What about the three-day rule?" the Princess asked.

"We're pirates, screw the rules… I know you two are having a little spat," Shi grossly underestimated it, "but I still figured you don't want him to get his head chopped off… Unless it's you who does it."

Despite never planning on going back to that ship, Azula found Wen's life being in danger to be a very powerful motivator. She understood now why threats usually got her whatever she wanted. Of course, she could go about her day, doing something else, but the thoughts of Wen screaming in pain wouldn't leave her alone.

"I'll go." she said and watched a smile form on Shi's face.

The two women went to retrace Wen's steps. As Azula was informed, he would not allow his crew to move the ship, since he wanted to wait a while in case she decided to come back to him. She wondered for a few seconds how long he would have waited for her… Two weeks, a month, a year?

One thing she knew for certain was how he'd answer that question. He'd flash that smug smile of his and say _For as long as it takes._

Her and Shi visited the tavern where Wen was last seen and found a couple of gentlemen who were frequent customers. They claimed to have information concerning the Captain's disappearance, but refused to reveal it without some money exchanging hands. That is when Azula and Shi brought a whole new meaning to _beat something out of someone_. The men caved in an instant and the women found out Wen was arrested by some Fire Nation soldiers. From there it was not hard to deduce where he was taken, now they just needed the ship to get to him.

As Azula stepped on board Wen's ship again, she remembered how she promised herself she would never come back. Last time she said her goodbyes, took everything that had any value to her and set out on her own just like before she met Wen. But there are some things that just cannot be undone. She might never be the same as she was back then, and she might never get this ship and its captain out of her life.

"Should we just start calling you Captain now, Shi?" one of the crewmen yelled as soon as their first mate set foot onboard.

"Shut your mouth, Hai! It's only been two days…"

"Not even your first day yet, and you already brought our best firebender back." Hai's brother added.

Azula was just about to object, when Shi cut her off.

"She's here to help save Wen… Cause that's what we're doing!"

"No way…" one pirate said from the back of the crowd forming around Shi. The whole crew started gathering since they all wanted to see what was going on.

"We have a rule about that!"

"He got himself into it, he can get out!"

"Let's just vote on a new captain now!"

The crew didn't seem at all on Shi's side. Damn cowards, afraid to bust down the door of one little prison... Azula didn't think she could listen to them squabble for one more second.

"Listen to yourselves!" Shi yelled so the voices quieted down a bit, "Wen saved all of you from a life of licking rich people's boots and this is how you repay him?! He saved me from the battlefield when we were kids… Jin and Hai! He took you on after he found you hungry and living on the streets. Ting, if he hadn't made us stop and get you from that island, you would have died there all alone."

Shi made a short pause for effect.

"And the thing about Wen is…He never cared about right and wrong. He did those things not to pretend to be some kind of hero, but because he thought you could be something. And look at you now… Scared!"

"That's enough!" one of the women interrupted, "We all liked Wen, but we're not dying for him."

"Yeah, he's probably dead already…" someone added.

Realizing her words weren't as effective as she hoped they would be, Shi pulled Azula aside to speak to her.

"You need to make them do it."

"Excuse me?" Azula chuckled.

"I can't make them listen to me. Only Wen could. But you… You used to lead hundreds of men, you can do it. Lead them!"

"I can't." Azula stated like it was a cold, hard fact.

"I've never heard you say you can't do something for as long as I know you…"

"I'm not… I'm not like Wen. The only way I know how to lead is to scare them into compliance."

"Then do that, woman. We're running out of time."

"I can't… They know me, they know I won't kill them or burn down Wen's ship. I'm not as terrifying as I used to be…" Azula looked in the direction of the prison. There was no way they'd make it on foot before Wen got moved. Or… Or worse.

"That's nonsense, come on! Just do what the Cap would do if it was you."

"How does one even get them to listen?" Azula asked after staring into the sea for a few seconds.

Shi answered by using two of her fingers to whistle so loudly everyone stopped talking at once and looked at the two of them.

"You say you don't want to die." Azula started, since she didn't feel she had any other choice, "Well, neither do I! That's why I have a plan on how to free Wen, and you have a choice. You can follow me, do your job and live, or you can be next on my list when we come back with the Captain."

Azula paused, looking at the crowd, face by face.

"And I know you're thinking all of you together could end me right here, right now, but keep in mind I'd take at least half of you with me. So the question is… Are you feeling lucky today?"

After she was done nobody moved for a few seconds, before they all slowly started dispersing and taking their posts. Azula breathed in a sigh of relief. She did it, they were moving. Now for that plan…

"I told you, you were one of us…" Shi punched her shoulder as a sign of… Affection? Azula wasn't really sure.

"Now what are you waiting for?!" Shi turned around and started yelling orders, "Weigh anchor, you worthless sea prunes! And be quick about it!"

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **I wasn't originally going to end the chapter here, but for the sake of making them at least a little even… Here.**_

 _ **Everything will be explained soon, don't worry.**_

 _ **I do actually hate when people make couples fight just so that they're not boring, but in this very specific case of Azula, I don't think she'd just know how to be happy all of a sudden. It's all very new to her…**_

 _ **And I added a little bit of them being a power couple in the beginning because, well, you know… A couple that slays together, stays together…**_

 _ **As always, your thoughts are very welcome :)**_

 _ **And I apologize for the entirety of my nautical vocabulary, it is awful…**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Finally An Available Username – I just had to say thank you for all the wonderful compliments, you absolutely made my day :)**_

 _ **As a non-native speaker I'm flattered about the grammar especially.**_

 _ **As someone who doesn't usually write, read or take part in romances, I'm flattered about everything else...**_

 _ **I very much intent to finish this without any major delays, so stay tuned.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Anyway, to the story…**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 8**

 **104 AG**

A. Anxious. Feeling or showing unease about something with an uncertain outcome. Similarly:

B. Bothered.

C. Concerned.

D. D… Dead. What if he was already dead?

No.

D. D… Distressed.

E.

But, what if he was dead?

Azula knew that for the next hour she couldn't really help Wen in any way, since that was how long they had to travel. And it was driving her insane… Her father always taught her that a warrior never worried about what he or she couldn't control.

That's why she stood at the front of Wen's ship, alone, trying to look like she was deep in thought, planning their attack. Not missing her boyfriend like a pathetic teenager. Ex-boyfriend.

D. Distressed.

E. E…

"You're looking edgy, Miss Blue." Shi interrupted her thoughts.

E. Edgy. Of course…

"Am I? Better stay away, then."

"You're not used to doing things without a plan, are you?"

"I have a plan." She just wasn't sure if it was going to work.

"The wind's holding nicely…"

"Are you really here to talk about the weather, Shi?" Azula said, her annoyance audible.

"I'm here to check if you can hold it together in there, babe."

"Ridiculous."

"I'm just saying, saving Cap is what's important."

"Do you think anyone has more reason to want him unharmed than me?" Azula asked, before remembering he was currently her ex-boyfriend. She seemed to be forgetting that a lot today.

"All due respect, Miss Blue, but him and me are something like family…"

"Well, it's not my fault he's captured."

"I didn't say that. He got caught cause he's an idiot." Shi smiled, "I didn't call you here cause I thought it's your fault. I called you here cause I like you."

Azula turned to look at the woman.

"For Wen, I mean…" Shi explained, "We'll find him and then you two can kiss and make up."

"Under no circumstances will we-"

"Please… You two smart people with your books and your big words, who else would put up with ya?" the woman smiled at nothing, "You know, when we were kids I was scared one night so I asked him, I asked Wen _Will we be friends forever?_ And you know what he said to me? _I cannot be sure, but I think it's unlikely_."

Azula chuckled. That was something he would say. So would she.

"But whatever…" Shi continued "We did stay together since then. He's like this annoying brother I never asked for."

"I think that's just called a brother."

"Right… Well, he saved my life and he helped me get my revenge."

Even after living on that ship for a full year Azula had no idea where Shi came from. Whoever she asked, they just said Shi was here with Wen when they arrived. He said the two of them met in the army and since the woman had the typical Water Tribe complexion and blue eyes, she just concluded Shi was there serving her country.

Like she could hear what Azula was thinking, Shi started filling in the blanks.

"Revenge on my father… My childhood, it was just me and him and he was… Well, a rapist asshole, so when I couldn't put up with him for one more second I ran away and joined the army. Only problem was, I was a girl and our tribe did not take girls to fight, no exceptions. But I was about ten, I figured if I cut my hair no one would know. Wen did, immediately, but he didn't tell on me."

"I asked every person on this ship what your story was… No one knew." Azula started, "Why tell me now?"

"Well, I know enough about you to know you won't go around feeling sorry for me." Ironically, that sentence almost made Azula feel sorry. Almost.

"And you seem to need all the help you can get." Shi teased, "Thinking I wanted Wen…"

Alright, Azula thought the laughing was a bit much.

"Anyway," Shi said, "as a girl non-bender, it was just a matter of time when one of you firebenders ashed me. If not for Wen's blood tricks that got us out…"

"He doesn't like to talk about what happened that night." Azula realized she didn't have to wait for Wen to open up about it.

"No wonder, he killed someone."

"Escapes have casualties…"

"One of us, his friends. He was practicing on us every full moon, getting better and better, getting ready for the real soldiers. But that time he went too far. He lost all control. That boy dying is still the most terrifying thing I ever saw…"

"So after that… He never?"

"Not that I know of. If he could bloodbend, do you think I'd have to save his ass so often?"

Azula nodded. She did feel a little better, if only because she had new information to process.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"This woman, Shi… Is she around still?" Katara interrupted the story with her question, "I'd love to meet her."

"She's still alive, if that's what you mean…" Azula said.

"Does she still work for you?" Zuko asked.

"It's complicated. Shi was one of my most trusted people for the majority of my life. Up until recently, when she stole one of my ships, a handful of men and ran. She felt very strongly that Zari and I shouldn't go on this visit to the capitol."

"Oh. Azula, I'm-"

"She warned me not to trust any of you people. She thought that you'll never be able to look at me as more than a villain and a lunatic." Azula said and looked around while everyone else was completely quiet.

"Let's hope for all our sakes, she's wrong." she added.

 **oooooooooo**

 **104 AG**

After a couple of wrong doors, Azula finally kicked down the right one. There wasn't much else in that room except for three cells, only one of which was currently occupied. Her eyes immediately fixated on Wen who was thoroughly chained to the wall and only stopped pulling on his shackles when he heard someone coming. Their eyes met and for a second, she forgot where they even were. He looked genuinely awful, even for someone who spent two days in that place.

"Unexpected… But thank you." he said and moved as close to the bars as his chains would allow him. He also smiled, seeing Azula was completely unharmed, "But you shouldn't have. I was getting out tonight anyway. Full moon."

"No, you weren't. You're afraid to bloodbend." she slowly moved closer, so she could lean on the bars between them. He really looked bad.

"Shi tell you?" he asked and she nodded, "Well, you already left me so what does it matter… Do your thing and let's get out of here."

He took a step back after saying that.

This was exactly what Azula was dreading. He was referring to her blue fire, which burned hot enough to melt any metal in seconds. They've used it to escape countless times before, so it was no surprise he thought he was saved the second he laid eyes on her.

"Azula, what is it?" he finally realized something was wrong when she didn't move.

"I… I can't." she managed.

"Can't? Can't what, love?"

"I lost it! Alright? The blue fire… It's gone." It felt liberating to say it aloud finally, but it also made it that much more real in Azula's mind.

Since Wen wasn't saying anything, she put out one of her palms and made a small orange flame. As it flickered, they both realized that they had no idea how to get him out of there.

"Is that why you…" he tried to form a question, but she nodded before he could finish.

"So much changed for me since I met you… I think it's finally too much. It's corrupted my very essence."

"What's corrupted? You're the same…" he stopped when she walked away from his cell and picked up a metal rod from the other side of the room.

"You remember who I was when we met?" she came back and placed the rod as a lever, trying to break off the bars, "You think that woman did rescue missions? You think she cared?"

"That's what all that stuff about needing me was… You think you lost it because of me?" he asked, watching her try and weaken the bars with regular fire.

"It's logical. You're the only thing that changed."

As Wen gave her hypothesis some thought, he decided to look at her face once more to memorize it before speaking up again.

"Azula…" he waited until he had eye contact with her, "Just go. Forget about me."

"No." she shook her head and started hitting the bars with her metal rod, since it appeared she her fire wasn't strong enough in this state. To her it seemed like she was failing at everything she tried lately. From being independent again to breaking this cell.

"Azula! Azula…" his voice stopped her, "They'll move me tomorrow, but I'll break out eventually. It's not worth it."

"Did you forget you can't lie to me? They know you're a pirate. You know as well as I that they'll hang you."

At that moment Shi ran through the door, prepared to take down a barrage of enemies.

"Oh, it's just you guys…" she lowered her swords when she realized Wen and Azula were alone, "Well, when you're done making eyes at each other, I wanna get out of here. Rishi's getting restless…"

"Rishi, as in Captain Rishi?" Wen asked.

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Shi smirked, "Your girlfriend made a deal with your sworn enemy to get you out of here… Turns out, they had a few crew members missing too. Only they found the keys to the cells… You'll have to do with this."

Shi passed Azula one of Wen's water pouches and then sprinted out, following the sound of swords clashing and firebending.

"Remember, we don't have a lot of time before they bring in reinforcements." she yelled back to them.

"The water's a nice idea, but I cannot bend like this…" Wen pulled on his chains.

"Try this." Azula took a pin out of her hair and threw it into his cell. They practiced lock picking like this before, but they've never actually pulled it off. Nevertheless, Wen was determined this time was the one. He placed the pin in the lock on his hands and moved it around with his mouth.

"Seriously, Captain Rishi?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"It was the logical course of action…"

"And what did that slime ask of you for this favor? And be warned that if it's of a physical nature, I'll be compelled to kick his teeth in."

"Your ship." she said and Wen completely stopped trying to pick the lock.

"You traded my ship?!"

"It was your ship or your life, I thought you'd agree…" she lied. She knew exactly how upset he'd be.

"Unbelievable…"

"Look, you can call me weak or sensitive or whatever else you want, but I couldn't just do nothing."

After she said that Wen went back to picking the lock. There were a few seconds of silence before a loud click came from Wen's handcuffs. Finally, his hands were free.

"I promise, I'll stop complaining about _how_ you saved my life now." he reached through the bars and took the pouch from her hands.

Azula watched as he bended the water out and into the cell's lock. It may have been too complicated to pick with a pin, but it was easy to break with ice. Seeing Wen walk out, she felt like something she didn't even know was there stopped squeezing her throat. She could breathe again.

As he stood in front of her, she realized that for the first time since they said goodbye there was nothing physically stopping her from jumping at him and kissing him until they were both out of breath.

"Just so you know," Azula started, "I don't like Rishi any more than you do… He's a vicious psychopath who doesn't have a grain of respect for anyone or anything in this world."

"Well, yeah, but so are we…" he smirked.

"But we do it so gracefully."

 **oooooooooo**

"So Azula…" Wen stopped suddenly to disarm a guard with his bending water and knock him out with a shove into the wall, "You're really going away after this?"

"Yes." a guard thought he could surprise them, but Azula threw him off balance with a stream of fire and then punched him in the face to keep him down, "I want my fire back."

"You know, I was thinking…" he stopped their brisk pacing through the hallway, and turned to her, "Now that I know what the problem is, I can help you fix it. You just tell me what it is you need. And whether it's chasing down the people that wronged you, or finding where the old dragons lived, or going into the Spirit World… I'm in."

"How are you not getting this? You are the problem." she dodged a dagger flying straight at her head and pulled it off the wall only to throw it right back at her attacker. The man fell down after it hit its target.

"You're really sticking to that explanation?"

"What other explanation could there be?"

"When did it stop working?"

Oh, she knew exactly when it stopped working… She looked up at him one day while they were fighting by each other's side and realized she was never that happy. Never even close. Of course, he saw her staring, but she didn't tell him anything. Even when they were alone, she said nothing because it's like she could feel the fire inside her grow dimmer.

"It's irrelevant… It worked even while I was having my episodes. But I've changed too much since then. I've accepted that I have to choose between you and my fire."

"We can have it both. I'll help you get both." he said a little more desperately than he might have wanted.

"We can't. I've made my peace with that."

"I'll show you, you're still the woman I felt in love with."

Here he was, using that word again.

"Just drop it." she tried to walk away, but he blocked her way.

"No, you started this!"

"Meeting you changed everything for me. I thought you could piece that on your own… I no longer think about how my father used me as his weapon. I remember it, I just don't think about it. It used to be my first thought when I opened my eyes… And now, I just forget for a while sometimes. Just like I forget that my brother and mother got everything and are living the perfect life that was supposed to be mine. I… Don't get jealous of them anymore. Because I have you and that's why I'm not mad anymore, I'm happy like a common lovesick moron."

"I make you happy?" he asked.

"Yes." she sighed, "That exactly is the problem."

"So you'd trade your happiness for fancy flames?"

"My bending is a part of me... If there's something wrong with it, here is something wrong with me!"

"I get that, I really do… But you make me happy too." he stepped closer, "Insanely happy. More than I ever thought possible... And it's only made me stronger. Even my bending, I couldn't get healing for twenty years before you showed up and now I can finally do it whenever I want to."

"Well, that's waterbending… Just because love can power your bending, that doesn't mean love can't hurt mine."

Maybe she shouldn't have used that word exactly… Maybe he didn't notice. She glanced at his face. Yes, he noticed…

"I'll go right and you go left." she said trying to move the conversation and the escape forward.

"I get it now." he said, ignoring her walking forward, "When you said you were leaving I was certain I'd never seen you like that. I didn't know what it was, until now… It's fear. You're scared, Azula."

"I am afraid of nothing in this world…"

"But you are… I know how terrifying it is to suddenly have your feelings and wellbeing and your entire life really, all wrapped up with this other person that has their own needs and problems. I mean, they could one day just decide to pack up and leave you without a single good reason."

"Alright, I did do that to you… Sorry."

"And I'll let you leave, just let me say one thing first. Let's assume your theory is right. They tend to be, anyway… Let's assume you have to choose between blue fire and being happy. You told me how you were brought up, I know you were taught you were nothing without your bending…"

"Wen, don't…"

"You maybe don't want to hear this, but even though your blue fire is fierce, beautiful and completely unique, so are you. Just you. I gave up bloodbending because it hurt me and I'm not saying you have to make the same choice. I just want you to hear you are worth more than what they say." He said and turned to walk away, to split up like she wanted.

Blue fire. That was what started all this hurt. Azula's mind went back to the first time her fire went blue. Zuko had just been banished and her father made her train days and nights. So she did. She trained while her hands and her feet ached until she could no longer move from the exhaustion and pain. That was when her father asked for more. And by some unknown inner power she rose to her shaky feet, swung forward and sent a blue flame across the room.

If that feeling, that all-consuming misery was what she was giving up, then maybe she should let it go.

"Wen, I love you too." she said quietly, causing him to freeze and turn back to her.

In that moment she knew she had been afraid. Since she first felt it, she was afraid, but she said it anyway. He was the first person, the only person she felt this way about.

Azula was waiting for a reaction, of course, but she wasn't too occupied to notice a man enter the hallway. Wen didn't see him before he turned, so she had to do something. Happily, they already had this rehearsed, so even in an emotional moment, he noticed her looking behind him and ducked just in time to let her stream of fire pass over him and to the enemy.

But to everyone's surprise, the fire leaving Azula's fingertips was light blue, just like it once used to be. Wen thought the look on Azula's face that followed was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

"Don't stop, love." he said and she ran forward to deal with the rest of their enemies. They'd almost forgotten this was a prison escape. Now that Azula was back to her old self, their fighting was back in sync, so they managed to fight their way out of the building pretty easily.

It was fear blocking her, she knew that now. And she'd never let it creep its way into her heart again.

 **oooooooooo**

Outside, Shi was fighting the warden of the prison, when he was struck with an ice blade from the back.

" 'Twas about time, you two." Shi noticed the way Wen and Azula walked, how they glanced at each other, and she knew. Whatever it was, they'd fixed it. She was thinking of something funny to say about it when, Captain Rishi blatantly pushed her aside to come face to face with Wen.

"So boy, are you going to make good on the deal your gal made with me?" the older man asked.

"I don't really have a choice now, do I?"

"Sure you do," Shi pressed one of her blades to Rishi's neck, "We could gut him right here, right now and take his ship."

Of course, as soon as she made her move, members of Rishi's crew all drew their weapons, aiming to help their captain.

"Just say the word, Cap." Shi added.

"Not now. There isn't enough room in all the world for both of us alive, but we will not be settling it today."

Shi sighed and sheathed her blade.

"You'll get what was promised and nothing more." Azula said.

"I can't wait to see what kind of treasures you have on your ship." Rishi smirked.

"Well, actually…"

 **oooooooooo**

Azula sat on a beach taking in the sunset, when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Wen lagging the last wooden crate from their ship. In an instant, he let it fall into the sand and collapsed next to her.

"Have I told you how glad I am you made the deal so it includes just the ship, not our belongings on it?" he sat up and turned to face her, enjoying how the lighting worked with her face features, "Rishi must love the fact he got outsmarted by a _gal_."

"I knew how much you love your books." she smiled.

Wen reached out and opened that last crate, revealing it to be full of books and scrolls. The whole beach around them was full of things from the ship. Mementoes, jewelry, clothes…

"Well, you have no idea what I had to go through to steal those." he pulled one small, black book out and then a big red one with gold rims.

"Sure, I do. I had to jump out a window with this one." she took out the oldest looking one and put it on the sand next to her.

"I caught you, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." she looked away, "I know this is a major setback for all of you, but I assure you I acted out of necessity."

They already knew each other well enough for him to know that was an apology, so he took her hand into his while the sun was slipping off the horizon.

"This, it's nothing. I'll adapt. I'll make it work."

"Don't you mean we? I'm staying here with you." she said and moved over to kiss him, but he pulled back, "What?"

"You're welcome to the crew, but if you want us to get back to what we were, you… I can't just keep thinking about if you'll pack up and leave me the next morning."

"I won't." her eyes were sincere as far as he could tell. But sure, she thought that now.

"When you left like that, it destroyed me, Azula. If we'll continue this, I'll need some kind of commitment from you." he said and her eyes widened, "I'm not saying getting married, but I need to know you're just as committed to this as I am."

"Of course, I'm committed. How about this? We have nothing now, I know, but when we take it all back, and I know we will, let's not stop there."

"What do you mean?"

"Your dream that you told me about. To have your own fleet. Let's make it happen, you and me."

"No pirate's ever controlled more than his own ship."

"So what if no one's ever done it? We'll do it. You're just stuck in your waterbender state of mind, adapting, going with the flow, but you're capable of so much more. If you just think for a second, you'd realize we're perfect for it, the two of us." Azula stood up, "You know pirates, I know empires."

"You're being serious?"

"Deadly. Look, I could give some speech about my undying love, but I think we both know how false those can be. This is how I'll show you that I don't ever plan on leaving again. I'm all in. We'll get your ship back, we'll get Rishi to work for us, we'll get every damn ship, boat or plank that floats, and we'll do it all together."

"Alright." he said simply.

"That's it? No pushback?"

"Taking over the world with the woman I love?" he stood up too, and pulled her closer, "That is as good as it gets, really. If you're right, we could own this world, and no one would know."

"I'm always right."

"But we'll have to take more risks, travel further than ever before. It'll take years, and it could get really, really dangerous…"

"Don't worry, Wen. I'll protect you." she smirked and he answered by pulling her into a kiss as the last bit of sunlight disappeared from the horizon.

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Alright, I'm kind of running out of ancient chapters of this story that I can just fix a bit and publish, I'll have to write entire chapters from now and that may take time. That's why I still don't know how many chapters in total I'll do.**_

 _ **I do know where the story's going, though, and that's more important.**_

 _ **About the chapter, I really wanted to mess with Azula's bending… It was supposed to be like the time Zuko joined the Gaang and couldn't produce a bigger flame than a common lighter. Azula, of course, being the more powerful bender didn't lose all of the power, just the bit that made her special which had to hurt… About fear blocking her bending, yes, I know the Fire chakra is blocked by shame, but I thought fear worked better here so I make a creative choice.**_

 _ **Next chapter we'll be jumping along that timeline much more so be prepared.**_

 _ **I wasn't sure about this "How I Met Your Mother" type of storytelling at first, where we actually know where everyone will end up in 30 years. I hope you don't hate it.**_

 _ **This story was actually received so much better than I thought. I'm both happy and scared to disappoint now…**_

 _ **As always, reviews are very welcome :)**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**I am kind of short on time, but I did manage to do this sort of in time. My laptop is the biggest piece of trash in the universe…**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy this :)**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 9**

 **109 AG**

Most people were destined to take up their parent's jobs when they got older. A baker's son had few choices, a firstborn prince even less. That is how Fen became the best paid assassin in her entire province at only fifteen. Her father taught her, sure, but she had the kind of natural predisposition for the work one couldn't fake. After her father died, people said she was even better than he ever was.

One day, Fen got a new mark. A pirate collective that was becoming too powerful by some people's standards. More specifically, their two leaders, Azula and Wen. Fen didn't like taking on two people at once, but word had it the two never separated.

Finding them, of course, wasn't going to be easy. She snuck on board ship after ship, passing through the area they were last seen over and over again. Nothing. She was just about to give up on her current plan when she heard people yelling the word _Pirates_ again and again in absolute terror. She was aboard a prisoner transport ship, so she only had to go down to the cells and wait.

"Pirates! Hundreds of them! They're everywhere!" A soldier came running down to the prisoners, probably to hide, but he was struck by lightning from the back. He fell and behind him appeared a man and a woman.

That had to be them…

"Outside. Hands raised if you want to live." Azula said as her fire melted the bars holding the prisoners.

Fen obeyed, together with most of the people, and they were led onto one of the two pirate ships that came for them. They were in open water again very quickly, since the waterbenders seemed to be very skilled at speeding up their ships. The prison ship was sinking into the ocean behind them.

As Fen looked around and counted, she realized there weren't hundreds of pirates on the two ships. Maybe a little more than one hundred…

Soon, the pirates who weren't helping with the sailing started splitting up the captives. Adults from the children. Since she was still a teenager and not particularly tall, Fen was sorted with the children. When she looked to the horizon, she saw two more ships, waiting.

The moment all the ships came close to each other, Wen came out of nowhere and froze the sea around them, so all the vessels were connected. He never had to say his name, it was fairly obvious which two people were in charge.

Now that their whole group was together, Wen and Azula sat down onto the big pile of boxes filled with stolen goods and immediately all their people went quiet.

"Prisoners, today is your lucky day!" Wen spoke up, "You are all free people once more. And as free people you face a choice, all of you."

"You can choose to show gratitude to the people who just saved you from a life in prison," Azula continued for him, "Or you can refuse our help and once again be on your own."

"And whatever your choice, make sure you mean it, since the few rules we do have, we take very seriously." Wen finished his piece and waved to two women who dragged out a tied-up man and laid him at the couple's feet. All the pirates reacted to this with loud booing and insults.

"This man was one of us," Azula started, "Until he decided he no longer liked our rules, so he murdered, stole and ran. But even on that ship we found him, like we always find traitors."

"Do you have any defense for your actions?" Wen asked the accused man, but he remained quiet.

"Then there is only one question left… Will it be fire?"

"Or water?"

The crew went wild, shouting one word or the other and it only stopped when the man said, decisively:

"Water."

"Looks like he's more scared of you, love." Wen smirked back at Azula before getting up and rolling up his sleeves.

"Smart man." Azula leaned back, ready to enjoy the display.

Wen ordered the man be untied, because it made for a scarier show if the victim against their inescapable fate. After all, this was useless if it wasn't a lesson. The man looked around in desperation before he saw water flowing up from the sea and on deck in little streams, all collecting around his feet. Water slowly crawled up his body to envelop him whole. The head was covered last, at which point he started kicking, trying to get air.

And Wen allowed him air ever so often, just to make the whole thing painfully long. A horrible way to go, surely to discourage any future mutineers…

When the traitor was gone, Wen threw him into the sea and sat back down next to Azula. They started calling the children forward, one by one, to make their decision. Fen couldn't believe there were children as young as eight who were going to a prison. Guess, they had to eat somehow…

"What's your name?" Wen asked.

"Fen." she stepped out in front of the two leaders.

"Do you wish to join us, Fen?"

"I do." Fen was certain now that was the only way she'd get one of them alone to make her move.

"Good," Azula said, "Any skills?"

"I can clean, and I-"

"Yeah, yeah, very good… Welcome. Next?"

That was… Easier than Fen expected. She walked to the side and carefully watched the rest of the show. She was surprised how many children actually took their offer. She had an ulterior motive, but they didn't.

Next were the adults. She expected even more of them to be interested in the pirates' offer.

"Just so you know," Azula started, "The children who refused our offer will be freed on shore close-by. The adults who decide to refuse us will be sold back to the prison they were headed to."

"So think carefully about what you say." Wen added before waving the first man forward.

"Excuse me, my Lord, my Lady…" the man started muttering.

"We're not that." Wen interrupted.

"Could I ask you to be taken ashore as well? You see, I did what I did bec-"

"Are you a child?" Azula smirked.

"No, my Lady… But I have children and without me they-"

"Perfect!" Wen stood up suddenly and ran to the man, causing him to shudder, "You can bring them aboard. There are plenty of jobs to be carried out that do not involve combat."

The man still seemed hesitant, so Azula decided to drive in the point.

"As long as you fight for us, we will feed them, clothe them and teach them how to write and fight. You won't get a better offer anywhere."

"I guess, I'll join, then." the man said.

"Alright." Wen sat back down, "Next?"

 **oooooooooo**

Later that night, while Wen trained with some of the new recruits, Azula showed Fen around together with some other little kids. Most of them got assigned to help in the kitchen, while Fen was supposedly chosen for a more important job.

"You'll sleep with the other girls down the hall." Azula said before opening the door to what looked like it was her and Wen's bedroom, "You'll mostly work here. You'll be our handmaiden. You do what I tell you, when I tell you. And when I don't tell you anything, you know what then?"

"Scrub the floor, dust, light the candles…" Fen started speaking, but went quiet when Azula waved one of her hands making every candle flame in the room light blue.

"Alright, not the candles." Fen said and Azula smiled slightly.

"You're also expected to wash our clothes and change the linens ever so often… The only thing you mustn't touch is the desk. Don't throw away things from it, don't arrange them, don't even look at them."

"Yes, of course." Fen nodded. This was all nice and pleasant, but she had to do what she was here to do before they sailed too far from shore. Then, miraculously, Azula sat down at her desk, turning her back to Fen. This was it, it had to be done. Fen reached for the knife in her sleeve and made a careful and completely silent step towards her target.

"There's something else you should know, Fen."

"Yes?" Fen froze in place, trying not to breathe too guilty, whatever that meant.

"We have this thing called the Golden Rule, and we're trying to get the word out about it even to those who are outside our collective. Assassins, mercenaries and such…"

Fen didn't like to hear her supposedly unsuspecting victim say the word _assassin_. But she still didn't let go of her knife. After all, if Azula turned to attack, she'd have to defend herself.

"It goes, if someone offers you money to kill me or my boyfriend, we will pay double for that person's head." Azula said meaningfully, with her back still turned, "With that in place, you see, it becomes dangerous to ask for our heads, stupid even. Then the only thing left to worry about are lunatics and fanatics."

Fen felt a different kind of frozen now. If Azula's offer was genuine, she could earn a lot of money. She could move finally, go somewhere no one knew her. It would also be easier than slaying the two of them. She might get lucky now with Azula, but she would also have to take down Wen.

"I just thought you should know that… Because if you swing at me, all deals are off."

"What? Swing? I-"

"Now, now, dear… What's it going to be?" Azula remained turned away from the girl, but in her mind she was already preparing to push her chair back and fight her.

"I…" Fen started before actually making the decision, "I want to invoke the Golden Rule."

"Good." Azula stood up and turned to face Fen. Then she put out her hand and waited for the girl to turn over the dagger she held in her sleeve.

"You're no amateur…" Azula said, not moving her hand, "Is that all?"

Fen sighed and turned over two little knives from her boots.

"That's it."

"Who hired you?" Azula sat back down.

"I don't know his name. He said you people robbed his home and then burned it down together with his family. He said you were getting out of hand…"

"We're already out of his hand. I know who it is, last week one man got away. You'll go and kill him for us?"

"Yes. I've never failed." Fen nodded.

"Alright. Do you have a contract? Something to prove the Golden Rule applies?"

"No, I don't read."

"Since I know him, his head will do." Azula started walking towards the door, "We were thinking about recruiting some assassins as well, for people who get _out of hand._ Should you return, I'd put you in charge of them."

"Me? Why-"

"You're not the best assassin that tried to take my life." Azula moved her collar to reveal a small scar on her neck, "This one was quite close. But he is dead and you are not, because you are smart. That's why. And you're young, so you'll learn quickly."

It still baffled Fen how they got to this while she followed Azula out into the hallway. There they ran into Wen who was just coming from the deck of the ship, wiping blood from his hands.

"I was right about her?" he asked.

"Yes. She took the deal. My guy?" Azula asked.

"Oh, yes. But he swung. Total pirate hater…" he put his hands around her, completely ignoring Fen, "That's one for each of us, so I'm still in the lead. 11:9."

"Yes, yes." Azula wiped a tiny drop of blood from his cheek, "And Fen here is a professional. She's going to take care of our loose end form last week."

"I do like our ends as tight as possible." he kissed her forehead and the turned to Fen, "You can go ahead and find Shi, the one with the scar on her cheek. I told her you might be coming, she'll get you to shore."

"Yes. Thank you again for this…" Fen started, but then realized neither of them was paying attention to her at all. They were just staring at each other.

"And remember," Azula added when Fen was almost gone, "If we catch you and the job isn't done, you're dead."

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"That sounds horrid." Mai interrupted.

"It was bloody in those times…" Azula started, "Every regional crime lord thought they were the one destined to end us, so ruling included much less sitting around, looking at maps and a lot more… Hands-on involvement. I remember we couldn't get through a single night without, an assassination attempt, a mutiny, a food shortage, a ship taking in water… We worked so hard knowing full well that one above average storm could destroy everything we'd built." she talked about it all with a smile, only later realizing she was getting strange looks, "I suppose you wouldn't understand."

"I do." Katara said just as Zuko was about to say the exact opposite, "I mean, it sounds horrifying, but… I catch myself remembering our time fighting the Fire Lord as good times, and that was during a literal war, when people were trying to kill us every other day, so what do I know…"

"It's like that. Getting our first 50 ships was the hardest, later it became easier. Less dangerous from day to day."

"I bet the Golden Rule helped that a lot. It's quite smart." Zuko said.

"Of course, it is, I came up with it. When we realized it worked so well, we added you to the list."

"Me?" Zuko sounded more surprised than he maybe should have been.

"Yes, all of you. You, Izumi, Mai… The royal family in general. I paid of a few dozen assassins over the years."

"I don't really know what to say."

"What's the matter, Zuzu? Did you think they weren't attacking you because you're such a good Fire Lord?"

"No, just… Thank you."

"It was for the Fire Nation, dum-dum. So that when our empire was stabilized, Wen and I could focus on other things. Like each other. That's when he finally agreed to marry me and then-"

"Wait, wait, wait… You asked Wen?" Mai smirked.

"He asked me first, right at the beginning, but I said I wasn't sure because when a princess marries a commoner she renounces all titles and her right to the throne. I wouldn't be a princess anymore and if something happened to Zuzu, legally I had no more claim to take his place than Katara… Even less so, because Wen was a deserter, so we didn't belong to the Water Tribe either."

"Azula," Zuko interrupted, "I would never strip your title. You're my sister, you suffered our father same as me."

"Well, you'd be dead in that scenario, so it wouldn't matter… So Wen agreed we shouldn't close that door for a silly sentimental formality. But as the years went by, I realized I wasn't a princess anymore, not really. I never planned on coming back, but I did plan on staying with him forever, so I proposed that time. Wen refused, saying he didn't want to cost me my birthright, but I kept asking until he finally buckled. The year Izumi was born."

"Why then?"

"Because before you had an heir the Fire Nation was one slip and fall away from total anarchy. But you two took your sweet time with it, didn't you?" Azula glared at Mai.

"I've been meaning to ask," Katara saw an opening, "You don't wear a betrothal necklace…"

"Yeah, I wouldn't really like one, Wen knew that. But we compromised so I made him one."

"You wanted him to marry you that bad?" Mai asked.

"Not a first, but by the end I just wanted to win. I went to great lengths… You would not believe the pomp." Azula explained and everyone laughed.

 **oooooooooo**

 **117 AG**

"Just a little more… Careful, there's a step." Wen led a blindfolded Azula through a corridor.

"You can change locations all you want… My gift will still be superior." she waved the scroll in her hand.

"Just be patient, we're almost there, love."

Azula tried desperately not to wonder, but the curiosity was killing her. A lot of people would say buying wedding gifts out of joined money was foolish, but the two of them both enjoyed trying to outclass their partner a little too much.

"Alright," Wen stopped pulling forward, "Are you ready to receive your wedding gift, other than me, of course?"

"I've been ready for hours." she slowly pulled the blindfold off and waited for her eyes to adjust to the sudden light.

When they did, she realized they were standing in an enormous room decorated with candles. The rows of high columns and the floor were all made from dark grey, almost black, marble. Everything in the room was designed to grab the attention of any visitor and point it towards the far end, where there were two equal, lavish chairs.

"It's our throne room." Wen said, holding onto his wife's shoulders from behind.

"You didn't."

"But I did…" he took her hand and led her to the chairs, "This is where we'll be running our empire from. All the ships in the fleet, all the spies, all the informants, they'll be reporting here."

"You bought me a throne room for our wedding?"

"No, my lovely wife, I bought you this whole island." he smirked, "It's a little rock in the Fire Nation, no one really cared about it, but we'll turn it into our little pirate hideout."

"I don't understand, who did you get to build this?" Azula looked around in amazement.

"That's the best part. It was an abandoned Fire Sages' temple, built so the mountains hide it perfectly. I just made some adjustments, added a dock…"

"It sounds captivating, but it's dangerous for us to stay in the same place for too long." she took his hand to show him she appreciated the thought, but she feared the consequences far too much. She had so much to lose now, by getting captured.

"I used to think like that too, but seeing what we've accomplished together, I think it's time to put down some roots. What do you think?"

Azula hated it, but the sparkle in his eye was changing her mind.

"It would be good for meetings. We have too many ships to get all the captains together on one of them." she sighed, "What?"

"If someone told me at age eleven that at some point my biggest problem would be that my wife and I have too many ships…"

"672 is too many. They're all over the world, we need a reliable and secret way of communicating, we need to establish some kind of regional leadership because-" she was cut off by a kiss, but she didn't really mind.

"We definitely do, and I look forward to doing that with you… But not now." he smiled, "Now you get to choose which chair you want. Come on, sit."

Azula thought briefly, then went for the chair on the right. She hesitated before sitting down, remembering the last time she sat on a throne. The day of her coronation.

 _And for your loyalty, I've decided to declare you the new Fire Lord._

 _Fire Lord Azula !_

But seeing Wen beaming at her made it all go away. That was the past and this, this was for the future. She breathed in deeply and sat down.

"Aren't you going to sit beside me?" she asked.

"Not before bragging about putting in those things on the floor that let you make fire burn around you, like the Fire Lord has. Try it."

And Azula closed her eyes, took a deep breath again and as she breathed in blue fire formed a line from their thrones all the way through the room.

"Incredible." she said, "How did you make it happen?"

"Let's see," he fell onto his throne, "I found out about the perfect architect, kidnaped him from the depths of Ba Sing Se, threatened him into designing the throne room and the dungeons-"

"There are dungeons?"

"Only the best for you, love… The most amusing part is, I made sure he designed them inescapable and then I locked him in there in case you wanted to make some changes." Wen managed to grin smugly before Azula pulled him in for a kiss by his collar. Good thing the chairs were close enough for that. He really thought about everything.

"So how am I doing?" he asked when she pulled away.

"Fantastically. I'm a bit embarrassed by my gift now." she handed him the scroll and he opened it. There were a bunch of documents in there, some maps and building blueprints.

"That's all the information I could gather about a training facility on the edge of Water Tribe territory. It caught my attention a few months ago. Rumor has it they've been collecting children that no one would look for, orphans, runaways, and training them for underground fighting. There is even talk about bloodbending training."

She knew he would find this particular cause to be very close to him. They didn't usually do things for anyone else but themselves, even though with their resources and skill they could make a real difference.

"So you want us to, what?" he asked.

"Go in during the day just to be safe. Keep stealth a priority, so just the two of us… Free the children, lock the doors and then-"

"Burn it all down, until there's nothing left." he finished for her.

"Exactly. I thought it would be the perfect first job for us as a married couple. I'm sure we can get most of the kids to join. They'll still fight and die, just not as entertainment."

"Did Shi tell you I tried those fights myself once?" he rolled up the scroll.

"She might have mentioned it… That's why I-"

"I would have told you, it just never came up. I didn't hate them, it was easy money. But not everyone there was given a choice. And we need people… When do we have to leave?"

"Soon, if we want to arrive tomorrow before dark."

"Too bad, I was excited to give my queen a tour of the bedrooms as well…"

"Queen?"

"You know they've started calling us King and Queen."

"Of what exactly?" she chuckled.

"You could be Azula, Queen of Thieves…" he waved his hands for effect, but it wasn't sticking, "Queen of Pirates? Pirate Queen?"

"They can call me Lady Crime for all I care… I just want them to obey."

 **oooooooooo**

 **123 AG**

When Azula quietly sneaked into the bedroom it was close to 4 in the morning. She used the light coming of a small fire in her palm to undress and find her way to the bed, where Wen was already sleeping soundly. She crawled under the covers next to him and quickly fell asleep.

Tomorrow, his face was the first thing she saw. It was like that most days now.

"Good morning, beautiful." he smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead, "Why didn't you wake me when you arrived?"

"It was really late, you looked tired. I couldn't."

"So how was the trip? Tell me everything. Give me the briefing." he laid back onto the mattress and she placed her head on his shoulder.

"It was decent. It took considerably less time to strike a deal with them than I anticipated. Their leader is not an idiot, that was unexpected."

"Rare and valuable, people like that are…" Wen played with a strand of her hair. It was very obvious the both of them didn't like being separated for long. In the early days it was normal. Lots of work to be done, not a lot of people they trusted with it alone. But these days they rarely separated.

"And that was it. That's how it went."

"Then why are you so tense, love?" he asked, "Did you get any new recruits?"

"In a way…" she moved her head onto her own pillow before continuing, "While I was there, I was feeling quite ill, so I visited a healer. And she said I'm pregnant."

"But you can't-"

"That's what I said, before going to see another healer. I finally accepted it, after the fourth one on our way here."

"So you're really-" he turned to look at her, but she didn't do the same.

"Yes. I suppose they were wrong before. Anyway, I scheduled an appointment with one of our physicians for tomorrow, to take care of it." she continued staring at the ceiling, "Since we don't want children."

"Is that something I'm expected to accompany you to?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, do you want me there?"

"I can handle it on my own. It's supposed to be nearly painless."

"Alright."

"That's settled then..."

Yet it did not sound settled to Wen. And as the quiet seconds passed and Azula did not move or say anything, he was becoming more and more sure.

"Love… Could it be that the reason you waited till tomorrow to take care of it was that you wanted to consider it?" he asked, and she finally turned to him.

"I wanted you to know about it, since you are the father."

It felt incredibly weird to Wen hearing the word _father_ referring to him. But Azula must have felt the same way. _Captain_ sounded weird to him too at the beginning, so did _husband_ and even _Wen_ right after he changed his name.

"But if we were," Azula continued carefully, "Considering it… What would you say?"

"I would say that the two of us are above-average in everything we do. There is no reason to believe we wouldn't excel at parenting as we do at everything else. That means it's up to you."

"I don't know what it is, maybe it's just me hating when other people have things that I don't have, but… I want to go ahead with this."

After she said that, Wen pulled her into his arms.

"Good. Then we'll be expecting the new recruit in seven to eight months." he smirked.

Azula still remembered how one of their enemies almost killed her. She remembered the blade, the man's smirk, Wen's scream. She remembered how he begged her to stay awake as he carried her into the ocean to heal her. Then waking up with their physicians, being faced with a lot of bandages and the fact she'd never be able to have a child.

Wen didn't care about anything aside from seeing her awake again. Neither did she at the time. Accidental pregnancy was just another thing they didn't need to worry about at the time. While other couples were raising children, the two of them were raising an empire out of nothing.

But now that their empire was _all grown up_ , she did have some time on her hands.

 **oooooooooo**

 **124 AG**

When he returned from a mission, Wen found his now visibly pregnant wife at her desk, completely surrounded by books and scrolls. She was making notes about something so dedicatedly he was sure she wouldn't have noticed him in the room for at least half an hour.

"Am I interrupting?" he spoke up. Her hair was down, even though it was daytime. Something was off.

"Oh, you're back. Good." she stood up and slowly waked to him.

"Is that the project about replacing messenger hawks with pigeons?" he pointed towards the desk.

"Oh, I finished that in a day. I'm just waiting for the damned things to be delivered because you cannot simply order three thousand pigeons from one store."

"Obviously…"

"Obviously." she kissed him and then stroked the side of his head.

"Are you petting me?" he pulled away slightly, confused.

"So that was weird to you too?"

"A bit. What's going on?" he asked and instead of a clear answer Azula walked to her desk, picked up a book and started reading.

" _In this chapter I will highlight the correlation between parental affection and children's happiness and success._ " she finished and looked at him, "I'm just not affectionate."

"You're affectionate with me, love."

"That's not the same thing… And I hate giving praise. I'm just very aware of what people are capable of and when they act within that it's not really a surprise. It's normal, it's expected!" she sat down and sighed, "I tried being supportive today, I tried being warm and open at the meeting, but it was a disaster."

"So that's why the hair?"

"I tried to be approachable and empathetic, but it just ended up _pathetic_. The captains were all somewhere from utterly confused to downright scared." she paused, sitting down at the desk again, "You remember, we talked about this when we first met. How we always hurt people unintentionally, how it's all we're good for."

"I remember." he walked to her from the back and started gently gathering her hair into a bun. Azula decided to close her eyes, if just for a few seconds. Upon finishing the hairstyle, Wen placed a kiss on her cheek and pulled a chair next to hers.

"But that's not the part that worries me." he continued, "I figured we'd teach ourselves that day by day. It'll be a cute little baby, how hard could it be? I'm more worried about chapter nine."

"You read this?" Azula flipped through the pages until she landed on the right one.

"How do you think it got to our library?" he smiled, "It's the only one that is worth reading. I also sent out a few of our people to find us the man who wrote it."

"So did I. We really need to coordinate our obsessions better." she wished this was the first time they've sent two search parties out to find something. Shi thought it was _adorable_ , but the two of them didn't see it.

"Anyway," he reached for the book, "This part is all about how every person learns which norms to follow and which to discard from their immediate social group. And our child will be constantly surrounded by the most hardened criminals in the world."

"Our dearest friends…"

"I know, but they're short-sighted, sadistic and hopelessly defiant to everything, how do we avoid that?" he paused, "I mean, how do we get our kid to believe in anything, in the law, in kings, in destiny, if we don't believe ourselves?"

"We don't."

"But everyone needs something to believe in to feel safe. Governments or the spirits or the damn Avatar or something…"

"I believe in you." Azula took Wen's hand, "I believe in myself and I believe in you. That's enough."

Wen sighed and leaned forward to kiss her hand.

"We teach our child" she continued, "they can believe in us and they have to believe in themselves."

"That's nice, but… The worst thing is, I don't really know anyone who had good parents. Everyone is terrible at it."

"Right? I realized that, so I went negative. I took a bunch of old family dramas from our library and started a list of what kind of behavior to look out for." she gestured to the giant pile of books on her left.

"That's fiction."

"Yes, but it was written by people. Real people with real families. It's not hard to pick out problematic patterns."

"I think you're definitely onto something, but you've overthinking a bit… Between our parents, our friend's parents I bet we can fill that list twice as fast with real examples."

"We are experts in human nature after all…"

"Yeah, you take Shi, for example, so… No physically harming the child." he got them started.

"My father's guilty of that too. No insulting them, that's for my mother."

"Yes. No blaming them for their bending."

"No avoiding, no ignoring."

"You really think it'll work like that?" he asked suddenly.

"We'll make it work."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Alright, I'm not really that happy with this one, but it was a bit longer than usual and I did NOT manage my time well.**_

 _ **Anyway, I'll be going for 12 chapters I think. That's decent in my opinion.**_

 _ **So thank you for sticking with this for all this time and feel free to express any opinions you may have :)**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**romynovaldi – Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying this :)**_

 _ **As for Wen, I'm sorry, he is dead in the present time in the story (134 AG), I didn't say it directly anywhere I think, but there is a lot of past tense being used when describing him. Don't worry, I'll touch up on it in the next chapter.**_

 _ **I'm sorry, if you think 12 chapters is to short. It's actually quite a lot for me, I think by the time the last chapter drops this might be my longest story. I should take it as a compliment, I guess.**_

 _ **But if you really want to read more, you can check out my story "**_ **While The Parents Are Away"** _ **since it explains how Zuko found Azula again, or "**_ **When We Were Young** _ **" that deals with what happens after Azula and her son become part of the royal family again.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **So here we are... Thanks for sticking with the story for this long. Enjoy :)**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 10**

 **134 AG**

"And then Zari was born in the summer of 124, completely healthy."

"I never asked," Zuko cut in, "Why Zari? I don't remember anyone from our family tree with that name."

"Not like you'd remember if there was someone, Zuzu… But you're right. He's named after my favorite person from Fire Nation history."

"I thought you were your favorite person from Fire Nation history…" he smirked.

Azula raised an eyebrow at that and took a threatening step towards her brother.

"I'll let you have that one, because it's funny. But watch yourself." she smiled and turned back to the sea, "I named him after the best royal advisor the Fire Nation ever saw."

"Why the advisor and not the Fire Lord?" Mai asked.

"Because he is the best diplomat in living memory who conquered three cities without even a fireball, while the Fire Lord of the time sat around and drank all day." Azula explained, "Becoming parents did change us somewhat, but make no mistake, we were still just as feared."

 **oooooooooo**

 **125 AG**

Azula was woken up by crying, like most nights now, but that wasn't her son. During the last year she'd developed a keen sense for recognizing and reacting to his little screams and this wasn't it. Next thing she knew she was kicked right into her ribs.

It was Wen and his nightmares again. First time in a long time… He was thrashing around, sobbing and mumbling something incomprehensible. Azula tried to hold him down so he doesn't hurt himself, like she always did.

"Wen. Come on, come back to me… Wen." she didn't even have to be particularly loud, he woke up, violently sitting up ad screaming.

"Sir, Ma'am, is everything alright?" they heard through the door from their guards.

"Yes, everything is in order!" Azula answered back and started gently wiping the sweat of her husband's forehead, while he was slowly coming to his senses.

"It's not real. You're home, safe. I'm the only one that's here." she told him, trying to recall what he told her when she was a little bit out of it, "It's over."

"Did I hit you?"

"No." she lied.

He exhaled deeply and fell back onto the mattress, still trying to steady his breathing.

"I can't believe this is happening to me again, like I'm a kid."

"I can." she placed her head on his chest, "You started bloodbending again, this is what happens."

"It's not even a full moon."

"Oh, I know, love. If it was you'd be out there practicing for whatever you seem to think is coming for us, but isn't."

"I'm not preparing for one specific thing, I want to live up to my potential. I mean, what if at some point it's the only thing that can get us out of trouble alive. I'm doing it for Zari."

"Oh, are you? You know what, you're done."

"Forbidding it, are you?"

"Yes. I want you to swear to me." she said and turned so she could look at him, "Wen."

"I swear, I'm done with bloodbending."

After being satisfied with his promise, she leaned in to kiss him and closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

They didn't discuss it during the day. There was just too much to do with Zari and some lost cargo… The next night, with a full moon this time, Azula woke up again and realized she was alone in the bed. It could just be that Wen decided to sleep elsewhere so he wouldn't hurt her, but it could also be that he lied.

After a lengthy search she found him on the floor of Zari's room, looking at their son through the bars of the crib.

"You thought you were going to bust me?" he heard her coming and whispered.

"Pretty much." she sat down next to him on the floor and took his hand.

"He needs parents who are not crazy, so I'm not going to continue."

"I don't think we're crazy. Actually, we've been quite boring since we became parents."

That made Wen smile, "Yeah, just your average, boring criminal masterminds…"

"What's this about?" she continued, "Since I clearly remember you convincing me a long time ago that I was more important than my bending."

"Our spies talked about a man who can bloodbend during the day, and I thought, how could I stop him… No firebender can take you. But this guy, if he decided to attack our family-"

"I was at that briefing too, don't forget. And Yakone won't attack us. Not now, not ever. Because he's a little man with little dreams. He's got nothing on you."

"Is that why we're dealing with him secretly?"

"Exactly. Our people losing their lives, or _sleep_ , over him is stupid. I already have a plan. We send a couple of people to follow him and little by little expose him to the Avatar and his friends for what he truly is. Then they'll take his bending and deal with him for us."

"That feels good to hear, but I still don't think I can go back to sleep. You should go, though."

She was going to, but then Zari made the tiniest little noise and she looked over. In the short time since the toddler got his own room she forgot how much she loved idiotically gawking at him sleeping. So she stayed. It was a few second of silence before Wen spoke up.

"You think he'll be a bender?"

"There's no way of knowing until he bends something."

"But have you tried showing him?"

"Are you asking me if I showed our son to put his hands in fire?" she asked a bit louder than she should have around a sleeping baby, "Because the answer is no."

"Not fire, water. He's got those icy-blue eyes…"

"That has nothing to do with it. My brother didn't have the spark in his eyes either. You'll see."

"Care to wager?"

"Always."

 **oooooooooo**

 **127 AG**

"Again!"

Three-year-old Zari kicked the air with his right leg as hard as he could manage. This was his third _again_ and he didn't like it one bit.

"Good." Azula nodded and made an effort to smile since she noticed her little student liked that far more than any sort of verbal praise, "I think you're ready to go higher."

"I can't. I'm little." the boy crossed his hands on his chest mirroring his mother's stance. Or at least trying to.

"Not as high as me, just a little bit higher. Like this." Azula put her hand in the air.

"I think... I… I think I can do that." Zari nodded and took his stance again. He tried the move a couple more times while his mother just watched from a distance.

The boy was getting better with every try, there was no doubt about it. She didn't exactly love teaching beginner's moves, but there was no way in the world she's allow a stranger to form her son's first attitudes about firebending.

While watching him struggle with his balance she heard a door open behind her.

"Are you almost done, love?" Wen walked up and put his arms around his wife from behind.

"No, Dad." Zari cut in before Azula could say a word, "It's Sifu in here…"

"Oh right, my mistake…" Wen smiled since Zari seemed so serious about the correction, "Sifu, when will the young master be done with his training?"

"Can I show Dad? Can I show?" Zari forgot all about the exercise and jumped up and down in front of his mother.

"I suppose it cannot hurt. The whole set from the beginning." Azula said, "But slowly."

Zari didn't even wait for her to finish, he already formed the first figure. Then as both his parents watched he suddenly stopped.

"Can I use fire?" Zari babbled almost incomprehensively.

"Love, you need to try that one more time, slower." Wen said.

"No, I got him." Azula looked down at the little boy, "You can, but I want you to be slow and careful."

"Yes, Sifu Mommy." Zari smiled, spread his arms and started spinning in place.

"I've never seen you preform that particular firebending move." Wen whispered to his wife as Zari finally stopped, waiting a few second for the dizziness to pass.

"That's to check if anything's in his way that could be set on fire. Safety first." Azula was quite proud for coming up with that little preparation move that saved a lot of their furniture, "I'm warning you, he's been taking this really seriously. So don't you dare laugh."

Wen nodded, all the while wondering why he would be laughing in the first place, but it soon became clear. Watching Zari stomp his feet and wave his arms into the figures his mom taught him while having maybe the most serious face any three-year-old ever had was objectively funny. He wondered how Azula could keep a straight face watching this for hours. Maybe she was used to it by now, but he had to cover his mouth at one point not to laugh.

Then, came the time for the final fiery jump-kick. Zari leapt off the ground, reached even higher than his mother said was enough and then landed straight back onto his face rather than his legs.

Wen immediately moved to help, but Azula stopped him.

"What else did we learn today, Zari?" she asked, "What else? What do you do when you fall?"

"Get back up. Try again." the boy didn't cry but stood up slowly and started his set from the beginning.

This time it wasn't funny. When it was time for the jump again Wen was awaiting the worst, but Zari leapt again, and this time landed safely. He forgot about the bow he was supposed to do to end the lesson since before he knew it his dad lifted him into his arms.

"Good job! You'll be able to take on Mommy soon…"

"Was it good? Was it good, Mommy? Did you like it?"

"It was your best yet." she said.

"How about you run down to the kitchens now and tell the cooks your parents said you can have a little treat?" Wen asked and got an immediate enthusiastic nod, "Yeah? Go on then."

"He didn't mean run, he meant walk!" Azula yelled after, but Zari was gone so fast she doubted he'd heard her.

"My son the firebender…" Wen smiled, "My father would disown me."

"And mine would be thrilled about this for sure…" Azula said as sarcastically as she could.

"I just got word from our spies in the Fire Nation." Wen said, serious suddenly.

"What? It's bad, isn't it?" she immediately knew she wouldn't like this from his expression. But what? Did something happen to Zuzu, little Izumi or…

"The Fire Lord's mother died two days ago." he thought it best to just come out with it, "There was a funeral today, big and regal. Half the Nation is in mourning."

"That's it?" Azula chuckled slightly, "Your tone had me thinking about civil wars."

"She was your mother." Wen tried.

"It's been twenty years since we last saw each other and even before that she's never been a mother to me."

"My mother didn't like me much either, I still cried when she was gone."

"You were eleven. Just…" she cupped his face, "Save it, since I'm not sad. I'm not going to miss that woman. She had no role in my life. None."

"She was family…"

"You know, who's my family?" she leaned in for a gentle kiss, "You and our son. No one else really matters."

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"Is that how you really feel?" Zuko raised his voice slightly, obviously trying to hold back anger.

"Zuko, she never treated me like her daughter. She never cared, I've accepted that."

"How can you say that?!" he felt his wife's hand on his shoulder, but still refused to calm down, "She loved you! She missed you until the day she died and on her death bed she begged me to keep looking for you, no matter what. We all accepted you were dead, but she believed… She always believed we'd find you someday."

"I bet the thoughts of her monster running around, terrorizing people, kept her up at night. Nothing would have made her happier than seeing me in a cell right next to Father." Azula paused, "Is that… Is that why you wanted me to come home? Is it because of her?!"

Zuko said nothing to that, only kept staring at his sister, remembering why they could never talk for long without it ending in a fight.

"I'm an idiot! Of course, that's why you did it… I can't believe I thought there was any other reason you'd want to talk to me again. Even after I saved your life… Don't worry, Zari and I will be out of your life on the next stop."

"That's not what I- Why do you have to be like this?!" Zuko screamed into the air and stormed into the ship.

"He's just touchy about his mom." Mai said, "He'll cool down and everything will be alright again."

"Why did you have to mention that?" Katara asked.

"Because… That's what happened. That's what I said." in retrospect she could have skipped it. It probably would have been easier, but she chose not to. "He didn't even listen to it till the end. Later that day Wen noticed I disappeared suddenly, so he walks into our room and finds me…"

 **oooooooooo**

 **127 AG**

Crying. Wen was a bit surprised. Yes, his wife had a good reason to get emotional, but over the years he'd come to associate her crying with her psychotic episodes. And a long time had passed since either of them had to deal with one of those.

"Azula, are you alone?" he asked, taking a seat by her on their bed. Over the years he found that she didn't like using the word _hallucinations_.

"Yes, yes… I'm alright. I'm just…" she wiped most of her tears and leaned on him, "You weren't right."

It was like she could hear him think it.

"Of course not."

"No, really. I'm not crying for my mother. I'm crying because of Zuko."

"He's fine." Wen assured her, "Probably more than a little sad, but he'll survive."

"It makes me sad, because he did care for our mother. He… This must be hard for him. He didn't get that much time with her because she left when he was very young. And now he'll never have a better relationship with her, he'll never get to say everything he wanted to say, she'll never get to see how his child will turn out…"

"Yeah, poor Zuko…" Wen knew those sentences weren't talking about how _Zuko_ was feeling, but he wasn't going to say it aloud. Azula left it unspoken because she liked it that way. He just put his arm around her and sat there with her for a few minutes.

That is, before he heard tiny footsteps entering the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Zari, why don't you go show Shi your new moves? I hear she loves firebending…" Wen tried to get the boy out of the room for now at least.

"Then Mommy should show. She is Sifu. Mom?" Zari ignored his father's words and walked further into the room, finally realizing his mother was crying.

"Look, Mommy. Look!" Zari did the only thing he could think to do and that was repeat the set he learned that day. She smiled when he first succeeded so why shouldn't it make her smile again?

After he was done he was disappointed to discover his mom was still sad, so he prepared to do it one more time. Azula stopped him and pulled him onto her lap and into a hug.

"I swear I'll be fine, love." she said.

"What's _swear_?" Zari asked.

"Promise. I promise I'll be fine." she wiped the remaining tears, "I'm sad right now, but not because of you."

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

Usually, when Zuko wasn't feeling like talking to anybody, he'd just find an empty room in the palace to brood in peace until he got over it, but now, on this ship, he was working with limited options. He simply found himself an empty hallway and sat down on a bench to mull everything over.

Mainly his relationship with his sister and the complicated cocktail of emotions he was feeling towards her, manly consisting of anger and guilt.

"Fire Lord." Zari said, realizing his uncle did not notice him standing just a few paces away.

"Oh, Zari. Hello. I remember telling you to call me Uncle Zuko."

"May I sit, Uncle?"

"Sure, go ahead. Are you excited for Capital City?"

"I am, very." the boy carefully sat down next to Zuko, "Would it be possible for you to show me your dragon one day?"

"Yes, of course. But it feels more like introducing, than showing. They're very smart, you know."

"Oh, I know. I've read everything ever written about dragons."

"They interest you?"

"Yes, they always have. But you're literally the only person in the world with one." He said that in a much calmer tone than one would expect a child to use to describe something exciting, but he was Azula's son after all.

" _Literally_ means for real." Zari explained, confused about Zuko's lack of response.

A few more seconds passed.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked.

"I am. I just had a disagreement with your mother. You don't need to worry about that."

"Oh. Well, I've come to believe siblings fighting amongst each other occasionally is normal."

Not the way him and Azula did it, Zuko was sure.

"Did your mother tell you that?" he asked the boy.

"She doesn't really like to talk about the time she was a kid. But she also says others will never forget about where you come from, so neither should you."

Zuko couldn't imagine Azula had anything particularly nice to say about her family to this poor boy.

"Did she ever tell you about our father?" he was curious to see how his sister described the man who started and nurtured all this hatred between the two of them. Spirits knew, he had a hard time talking about it to Izumi.

"Fire Lord Ozai. She said he was a skilled bender and strong-willed man, but he lacked in matters of strategy. He failed to recognize he needed people to work with him, because he thought he was above them. She said this made him a bad Fire Lord."

"He was a bad man overall, Zari. A very bad man…"

"Mother taught me never to call people good or bad." Zari corrected, "They can be good or bad at something, but there is no right way to be a person. Like perhaps they are bad at following rules, or bad at being empathetic, or bad at controlling their anger, but they are not bad themselves."

"She might be right about that, my sister." Zuko turned to the boy with a small smile, "And what does she say about our mother?"

"Lady Ursa. She was Avatar Roku's granddaughter and became Princess Ursa when she married grandfather. Mom says she was a bit strict with her sometimes. But she was very beautiful and liked gardening, as well as the theatre."

"Azula told you that?" Zuko was sure Azula put in an immense effort to come up with those few nice things to say.

"Yes. I liked the part about the theatre, because I love it too. To be honest, I've only ever seen half of an official play, but I enjoyed it so much."

"And me? What does your mom say about me?" Zuko asked, but Zari looked away, "You know, you're not tattling on her, she'd repeat everything she told you to my face and more."

"That's true… She said you're silly and that you think too much, and not in a good way. But I mostly asked about the dragon." Zari paused as his uncle chuckled, "And she told me that if anything ever happened to her I should go find you. That you'd keep me safe."

 **oooooooooo**

 **128 AG**

"Dad, help! Dad!" Zari ran from inside the ship, yelling like he was chased by a spirit monster, not just Shi making silly noises. He spotted his father immediately and made a break for his arms where he knew no one could get to him. "Save me!"

Wen smiled at how Zari buried his head in his chest, but obeyed the boy's _command_ and growled back at Shi. Zari soon joined in and the woman immediately stopped running and staged one of the most dramatic fake deaths any of them have ever seen.

"Can you handle her from here?" Wen asked and, after getting a nod from Zari, let him go play some more.

That day, Azula suggested they take out one ship and a handful of men just to see the open ocean again. They were beginning to feel a bit cooped up in their hideout, day after day, reading all the letters, running the numbers, planning the operations. These days their empire grew constantly without them ever having to leave the comfort of their throne room. But that comfort was getting a little boring, to Zari most of all.

"So you were saying?" Azula moved her gaze back to her husband.

"Yes… I was suggesting we all take another trip like this, but to the South Pole. I think it's about time Zari saw where his dad was from."

"You know we can't be seen…"

"I know, and we won't. I just want- Zari, no! You can't use fire, Shi can't deflect it like Mom can." Wen turned to their son who was just threatening Shi with a little fire blast.

"Sorry, Dad!" he boy yelled back and continued wrestling with just his fists.

"So what do you think?" Wen turned his attention back to Azula.

"If it's important to you, we'll find the time."

"I just want our son to see real snow. Not just the one I can make…" Wen waved both of his hands slowly and pulled some water from the sea, turning it into gentle little snowflakes. Zari immediately stopped what he was doing and started jumping around, trying to catch as much of them with both his hands and his mouth.

With the corner of his eye he saw his mother breathe a little bit of fire into the air to stop the snowflakes from reaching her. He was delighted by it and immediately started blowing, trying to breathe fire as well.

"Mom, when can I blow fire?! When?" Zari kept trying, blowing with more force each time. It resembled airbending more than firebending and made all the adults smile.

"Five more years, maybe…" Azula decided to go with honesty.

"I can't wait that long!" the boy yelled and continued what he was doing.

"Although, the Pole would provide me with an excellent opportunity to teach Zari how to keep himself warm with bending." Azula said, but noticed Wen wasn't really listening. He was staring into the horizon, so she turned to see what was so interesting.

A lone ship. Otherwise not that interesting at all, but this one looked like it was packed with gold from rim to rim. Ships like that often had smaller ones guarding it.

"We should get it." she said.

"No… Zari's onboard. The weather's going bad…"

"Cap, the storm did half our work for us," Shi cut in, "Aren't we gonna do something?"

"She's right. That's why it's alone, it's weakened." Azula said, looking behind the ship where waves raged and clouds blocked the sky.

"Alright. Crew, prepare for battle!" Wen yelled and took his waterbending stance, forcing the ship into a sharp turn. Most of the pirates left their post immediately to find a bow and then lined up on one side of the ship awaiting command.

"Draw!" Azula yelled and then after the crew obeyed fired up their arrows in one blast, "Loose!"

"Whose flag are they flying?" The enemy ship was pretty run-down from the storm, so Wen couldn't make out the appearance of their flag. But Azula could. She'd know that flag anywhere…

"Fire Nation." she said quietly, as when she realized that the whole ship started to look familiar. How hasn't she noticed it before? Yes, the storm had given it a hard blow, but she could never forget that color and that gold work… "It's the Fire Lord's ship!"

"It's what?" Wen stopped waterbending them forward as Azula pulled his arm.

"Listen to me, my brother has to be on that ship. We can't take them, because he can't see me. And we cannot bring his attention to us."

"Are you sure? We've already engaged, we can't-"

"They also have the best-engineered catapult of our time onboard." she said and Wen shook his head in disbelief.

"We have nowhere to go, but that storm!"

"Well, at least they won't follow us there!" Azula said and jumped onto the ship's railing to redirect lightning coming from the enemy ship.

"Waterbenders, with me!" Wen called and together with three more men turned the ship towards the storm so suddenly it nearly tipped over. Zari, being unprepared, fell over as the ship made the turn, but didn't seem bothered by it.

"We shouldn't be hitting the waves at this angle…" Wen concluded after one almost flipped them again.

"Why don't you do something about it then?!"

He was just about to go closer to the front of the ship to separate the waves when she pulled him back. Their enemy seemed to finally make that catapult work, since a giant stone projectile was flying towards them. Azula quickly shot it with lightning, breaking it up into hundreds of pieces, and Wen placed an icy shield to stop them from reaching the ship.

"We'll be out of range soon." he said.

"I'll get Zari."

"Be careful."

Azula looked around for their son, and finally spotted him trying to hold up a bow.

"Absolutely not." was all she said before dragging him inside by his little hand.

"But I wanna see!" the boy whined.

"What's that tone?" Azula sat him up on the bed in their cabin.

"Mom, I want to be with you and see. Please." he tried it one more time, calmer.

"Not this time, love. You'll stay right here, where it's safe." she put the covers over him since it was getting quite cold.

"But you'll stay, right? Right, Mom?"

"Someone will."

In a few minutes Wen ran into the room, soaking wet from the increasingly heavy rain.

"Good news, that ship is no longer chasing us. Bad news, it's because they're not dumb enough to go back into this storm. It's ugly out there, but don't worry, Zari. Your mom will stay-"

"She will not." Azula said.

"Someone has to."

"Is there lightning?"

"There might be…"

"Then I have to be out there to redirect it. You stay and read Zari a story." her tone was dead serious.

"You know they're not strong enough without me!"

"So what then? Shi?"

"Everyone out there already has something to do, we're really short on men." he explained and then both of them turned to their son slowly.

"No. No, I don't want to." he shook his head.

"We need you to be brave now, Zari." Azula stroked the boy's cheek.

"We'll leave the door unlocked, but you can't go up there for any reason, do you understand?" Wen asked and Zari nodded while tears collected in his eyes.

"But we'll come down and get you the second it's safe."

"You swear, Mommy?"

"I swear to you."

And with that Azula and Wen left the room. They were just about to climb to the deck when the ship tilted, throwing Azula into a wall and Wen right onto her.

"You think he'll be alright?" Wen whispered.

"He's strong. And we won't let anything happen." she whispered back, "Let's go home."

In a few seconds they made it to the deck finally to deal with the storm while Zari stayed put under his blanket. Thunder never scared him before, because it reminded him of his mom, but this time, when they were out on the sea like this, it was different.

With all the clouds blocking the sun, it was hard to believe it was daytime. Wen tried to focus on the damn waves and the rain, but he just couldn't. His heart wasn't in it, so to speak… And the more he tried to concentrate, the more he remembered every lightning flash, every time the boat leaned Zari had to deal with it alone.

By some unknown force he found himself entering the cabin to check up on him. Just to sneak a peek, maybe say it's going well, but he was surprised to find Azula there on the bed, cuddling up with their son.

"Busted." Wen said from the door.

"I couldn't…" she confessed, "But from what I'm seeing, neither could you."

He could leave again now, Wen was aware. It was taken care of… But somehow, he didn't want to.

"I love you both so much." he lied down next to his wife and Zari immediately moved to sit in between his parents. Wen kissed the boy's forehead and then Azula.

"What about the storm?" she asked.

"They'll handle it. They've handled a lot worse on their own. What are you two up to?"

"Reading." she reached for a big colorful book, "At least I was reading to him until I made a remarkable discovery. Zari, what does it say under that picture?"

"A. Dra… Dra-gon. A dragon li- Li… I don't know the third one, Mommy." Zari looked up sheepishly.

"It's alright, love." Azula took the book and closed it, before turning to her husband, "Traitor. We said we weren't going to teach him how to read yet. You can imagine my surprise when-"

"Zari, can you please pick another book for us to read?" Wen asked and Zari jumped from the bed and walked to the book case on the other side of the cabin.

"I couldn't help myself." Wen continued, quietly this time so only Azula could hear him, "He's so special, love, so smart for his age, brilliant. He learned some things from simply watching me read to him."

"We agreed. We agreed we weren't going to call him special or a prodigy or treat him any different than if he was a normal kid. The firebending training is just so that he doesn't hurt himself." Azula paused and looked away, "You know this is important to me, you know what kind of pressure I was under as a child. I don't want any part of that for him."

"I know. And I'm sorry. I just got excited, because he's so much like us. And I didn't force him, he wants it, he loves learning new things… Do you know how hard I had to try to find someone to teach me that stuff? And now I can just give him that knowledge, how am I supposed to say no? I don't want to be the one to hold him back."

"Well, I don't want to shove him forward because it makes us happy. If we wait, he'll seek it out on his own."

"Mom, are you mad because I read?" Zari appeared next to her with a different book.

"No, I'm proud, very proud."

Hearing that, Zari smiled from ear to ear, only to be startled by thunder. He immediately returned to the safety of the bed, right between his parents.

"How about I tell you a story?" Wen stroked the boy's back.

"Does it have dragons?"

"Why do you love dragons so much?" Azula asked.

"Because they blow fire like you, Mom."

" _Breathe_ fire." she corrected, "You say _breathe fire_."

"Why? It doesn't go in, it just goes out."

"He's got you there, love." Wen smirked, "And not, it doesn't have dragons, but it does have breathing fire. It's about the first time your mom was on this ship. You see, this is the first one I had, and I brought her here right after we met…"

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"I'm glad about what we decided that day. After all, it was the last time we were all together." Azula said.

"Don't tell me the storm-" Katara started.

"No… We got out of the storm fine. We got back to our hideout in the middle of the night and decided to try and get a few hours of sleep until morning. That's when…" Azula stopped, seeing Zuko returned to the deck, this time with Zari.

"Before you say anything, Azula," the Fire Lord started, "I'd like to apologize for making you feel like you and your son are not welcome with us, because the truth is the exact opposite. I'm overjoyed to have you here and I think it would be best if we didn't bring up our past anymore because it only leads to arguments. Can we please continue our journey as planned?"

Zuko finished the entire thing in one breath and then looked over to Zari who gave him a subtle thumbs-up with both hands.

"We can, brother."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Here, you go. This is a long one too. My semester's starting so any delays you can blame on that.**_

 _ **I know the story is kind of time-jumpy right now… I just wanted to give a run down of what their family life looked like.**_

 _ **I changed everything a thousand times, so forgive if there are mistakes.**_

 _ **For those of you who maybe forgot, Wen is supposed to have some light PTSD from the war triggered by blodbending because he used it for the first time to escape from there and he couldn't control it.**_

 _ **One thing that's different is that something actually started happening in the present (134 AG) time. I plan on keeping that going. Next chapter they arrive, finally.**_

 _ **Anyway, thanks for reading, reviews appreciated… You can also ask something if you want, PM if you're shy :)**_

 _ **Fun fact (that you probably don't care about): the ship in the storm scene is lightly based on real life events, since my parents and I found ourselves in a heavy storm on a boat once, while I was four. And while they were freaking out, I wanted to stand on the bow and look through my binoculars. And no, I'm not that brave anymore. And no, my parents are not pirates. And yes, everyone made it out OK :)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**I am very sorry for taking so long this time… Dishonor on my whole family, I know…**_

 _ **For those who forgot Shi is my OC too, she's supposed to be Wen's best friend/self-proclaimed sister… I do casually use her in chapters here and there.**_

 _ **Also some casual information for people who read only this story: In the 134 AG time Azula helped Zuko save the world, that's why her and Zari are coming back with him. Zari's 10 then. He's about 4 in the flashback.**_

 _ **Slight heads-up, this chapter is a note more tragic than the rest.**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 11**

 **128 AG**

Azula was woken up by the sounds of swords clashing and people screaming. As soon as her mind was even a little bit conscious, the overwhelming smell of smoke made her open her eyes. The hallway was on fire and the room was probably next.

"Wen." she shook him awake and stood up.

He coughed a couple of times before realizing what was happening. He listened for the voices coming from down to hallway, while Azula already put on her shoes and his jacket.

"You wait here. I'll go get Zari." she said and disappeared into the hall.

Zari's room wasn't far away. This, highest floor, was reserved only for the three of them and usually had guards posted at the stairwell, but now, somehow they were nowhere to be found. Azula could easily calm the fire with her bending and quickly found their son still sleeping in his bed, unaware.

She woke him up gently and started putting on his jacket and shoes while he was still half-asleep, barely keeping his eyes open.

"What's going on?" the boy asked.

"We have to get out of here. I need you to hold this on your mouth, like this." she pulled his collar over his nose.

"Like this?" he tried it.

"Just like that. And breathe through it." she smiled slightly to give him the impression that she had things under control and then lifted him up in her arms. She took him back to where Wen was waiting, prepared to fight with a full pouch of water. They both knew there was no way this was just an ordinary fire caused by someone being irresponsible with candles. With so many benders around that would have been contained and solved before it reached their floor. No, this was something else. They were under some kind of attack. Unfortunately, there was no way to know what they were up against.

"Give him to me." Wen took Zari into his arms, since that was the deal they made a long time ago.

They planned for possible emergency situations and the agreement was that if only one of them could make it out with their child, Wen should be the one. Wen was far better with people, he was the one they were more likely to follow, he was an excellent father and knew healing that could help him save their son. Azula made all those arguments and many more so he had no choice but reluctantly agree.

"Any idea what we're about to walk into?" she asked.

"Benders, definitely. And a lot if they're keeping our guys so occupied." Wen said and then glanced at his son's face, "There's no reason to be worried, Zari. We got this, just three skilled warriors, having an adventure."

At that moment two men, clearly not working for them, ran up the stairs. Azula immediately jumped to fight them, trying to use the fire already in the hallway to her advantage. Wen decided she didn't need his help and turned so Zari couldn't see what she was doing.

"Does that mean I get to help?" Zari asked suddenly.

"Of course. You'll use your warrior muscles to hold onto me as tight as possible and you'll close your eyes and think about dragons."

"Dragons?"

"Yes, of course. I want you to really focus and come up with a good name you'd give to your dragon."

"I like dragons."

"I know."

While they were chatting Azula managed to take down the two men and another one who ran up the stairs after them.

"I said it before and I'll say it again, we need a back door to this place." she said and started moving downstairs. She was supposed to be first according to their plan and Wen was supposed to walk after carrying Zari and only engage when necessary.

"Are you sure you don't want a weapon?" Wen asked, picking up one of his swords, just in case.

"If I need a weapon, I'll take it." she said an they continued making their way to the exit.

Zari seemed preoccupied by the task his father gave him and said nothing the whole way, keeping his eyes closed. Around a corner they encountered one of their people, nothing more than a cook, fighting off two enemies. Since the boy was already on the ground, Azula leapt to help him and with one blast incapacitated the intruders.

"Can you stand?" Wen asked the boy cook and reached out a hand.

"Yes, thank you." the boy rose to his shaky feet, "I was sent to warn you. They-"

"We're under attack. We realized."

"Who is it?" Azula asked.

"I don't know, Ma'am. They're not wearing uniforms."

"We have to get out of here, Wen." Azula moved forward.

"We do. All of us. Here." Wen gave the cook his sword, "Go the long way to the exit, take everyone you find in the kitchens with you."

"Ye-Yes, Sir."

As they continued forward Azula had to fight larger and larger groups of enemies. Wen decided to join in to help, using only one hand to bend, while the other one held their son away from harm. In retrospect, Azula should have already known something was off there and then. These people were not the kind of amateurs they were used to coming after them. This was the kind of operation they were used to leading, not being the victim of. She kept it to herself, not wanting Zari to hear doubt in her voice, but she hoped Wen was catching on too.

"Die!" one of their enemies yelled while attempting to preform a sneak attack from behind a corner. Stealth at its finest… Maybe she had overestimated them. Even without using her fire she kicked the spear right out of his hand and then knocked him out with it.

"I told you I'd get a weapon if I needed it." Azula detested swords, but spears and throwing knives… Well, there was a time and place for them.

The shortest way to the exit was through their throne room. Making it there, they felt like they were already outside. But as soon as Azula made it past their two chairs she was faced with the largest group of enemies yet. About a hundred of them stood between her and the door. She froze in place, trying to come up with a way to double back without all these people immediately following behind.

Then Wen ran in after her, holding Zari.

"Get the two of them! What are you waiting for?!" a woman yelled and instantly got struck with Azula's spear. The Princess threw it to free up her hands for the firebending move she did next, which raised a wall of blue fire that reached from floor to celling and blocked the three of them from the attackers.

"Run, I'll hold them off as long as I can…" she said, but Wen didn't move an inch. She focused on the wall, but you could already see orange parts where their firebenders were trying to get through.

"Wen, we agreed. Wen!" she tried to get him moving, but with no success.

When he finally started waking he came to her, turned her towards him and pushed Zari into her arms. She didn't know what was happening, but she instinctively pulled her son closer. Wen used all the bending water he had to form a ball of snow around his wife and child and then sent them flying out one of the windows.

Now that Azula was gone, the wall of fire sizzled down to nothing in seconds and Wen was face to face with all one hundred enemies alone. No weapons, no water, just him.

The windows of the room overlooked a cliff and Azula and Zari were currently at the bottom of it, mostly unharmed. The snow softened the blow, and Azula was already trying to climb back to the window and help when she saw a flash of firebending, followed by a blood-curling scream she knew was Wen's. Hearing it felt like her skin was being peeled off, but what hurt even more was the sudden and complete silence that followed it.

For the first few seconds she felt paralyzed, not able to move or think or yell or cry. Then she refused to believe it. She continued climbing, twice as fast so she could see it for herself. See Wen alive and fighting…

One stone came off the side of the mountain and she slid right back down into the dirt. This made her angry enough to use all the fire power she had just to get there. For Wen. She had to…

"Mommy?" she heard from behind, "I opened my eyes. Can we go?"

There was no sound coming from upstairs. No fighting, no screams, no bending… Wen was not coming after them. He didn't plan on it.

"I'm scared, Mom. Can we go?"

Azula said nothing, just picked the little boy up in her arms again and started walking down the beach.

How dare he?! They had a deal! They talked, they presented arguments, they bloody agreed! Who gave him the right of deciding for the both of them?!

She picked up the pace, her walk turning into a run. She couldn't go to the main port, it would be overrun. There had to be someone at the back of the island still.

How could he do this to her?! He left her! He left them! Alone… She was completely alone.

"Oh, Azula… Finally!" Shi was still fighting with a few people at the back of the island. When the last man was knocked down, she ran to see if Azula or Zari were hurt. "You can go ahead into the rowboats. I'll go get Wen's ass over here, just tell me where he is."

"Wen…" Azula tried, but she remembered Zari was listening, so she just shook her head. Judging by Shi's face, she understood immediately.

"Let's get you onto the boats then."

Azula managed to walk into one of the rowboats and sit down, surrounded by her people, but then her movements froze just as her voice did before. She didn't move, she couldn't even give the order to leave, Shi did that.

It should have been her, Azula's mind screamed. I should have been her and he should be here. He should be here, she should have burned….

Only about a dozen of their rowboats left that island, all of them headed to the same place. One of their people remembered to send a message for help. One of the ship captains was picking them up a bit north from there and taking them to a safehouse they prepared in case this kind of thing ever happened. They planned, they prepared and still they were not ready.

Zari fell asleep on the boat, almost immediately after he realized his mother was ignoring all or his questions especially the ones about his father. He fell asleep in his mother's arms, Azula holding onto him like someone was trying to rip him away. Everyone on the boat understood their loss, so they remained quiet.

And in that quiet Azula started hearing things. Voices. Screaming, laughing, crying… Voices she's heard before and new ones, all speaking at once. She saw things as well. Things she knew weren't real. People who couldn't be there. She saw her hands on fire, her son on fire, their boat and the entire ocean as far as she could see everything burning.

But she didn't flinch. She closed her eyes, held Zari tighter and waited to make it to shore.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

After a long journey the Fire Lord's ship finally reached the main island. They were all greeted by a giant, cheerful crowd, too big for Azula's taste. The people clapped for them as they came ashore, one by one. That is, they clapped for the Water peasants and their beaming Avatar, they clapped for their Fire Lord and his wife and daughter, but no one clapped when Azula and Zari stepped onto solid land.

Zari hardly seemed to notice from all the excitement of being just a short road from the palace, but Azula was worried. She knew that the crowds were only going to get bigger as they made their way up to Capital City.

As she watched Zari, shadowing Zuko, asking him question after question, she felt someone's hand gently touch her shoulder to get her attention.

"Everything alright, Aunt Azula?" It was Izumi.

"Yes, perfect."

"I talked to my mom and she agreed we should give you your old room back. I just need to clear my things first."

"That's not necessary. You're the Crown Princess, Izumi. You should have it." Azula looked over to Zuko who was saying goodbye to the Avatar and his friends. They had some more sailing in front of them before they reached their home.

"Or maybe Zari would like it." Izumi tried again, "I want you to feel welcome here."

"It's been yours longer than it's been mine, Princess. I'm not really sentimental like that." Azula said and Izumi nodded.

At that moment the royal palanquins arrived, finally, together with the people to carry them and an unimpressive number of guards. Zari spotted them coming and immediately ran to where his mom was standing with his cousin.

"Can I travel with Uncle Zuko?" he asked, "He said he'll tell me the story of how he got his dragon."

"Palanquins are usually meant for only one person, Zari. You'll have plenty of time to talk to him when we're at the palace."

"He can fit next to me. It's not a problem." Zuko walked by too.

Zari gave his mom a pleading look.

"Alright, you can. Just stay close to… _Uncle Zuko_." It still felt unusual to say. Well, to her. Not to Zari. He was loving it.

He beamed and started walking after his uncle, only to turn around and give his mom one quick hug.

"Thank you. Today is the best." he said before joining his uncle.

When everyone was seated the people started carrying the palanquins towards the palace while the guards cleared their way. Passing all the houses, familiar streets and squares, Azula almost felt… What was the word? Nostalgic… She never thought she'd come back here and be a princess again.

She wondered for a second what Wen would say if he could see her now. Would he be angry, betrayed maybe? Zari was happy, so she had to believe Wen would approve.

Suddenly the whole file of palanquins stopped. Azula was a bit lost in her thoughts, but Zuko immediately peeked his head out.

"What's the matter?"

"They refuse to step aside, my Lord." a guard said.

Zuko looked forward and there were indeed a few dozen people blocking their way. He swiftly got out of his palanquin and walked to his guards who were already trying to push the citizens out of the way.

"Move in the name of Fire Lord Zuko!"

"Move or we will be compelled to use force!"

Zuko really didn't like how quickly the situation got tense. None of the bystanders were happy with how the guards were reacting to this.

"Wait, wait… Stand down!" he ordered his guards, "What seems to be the problem here?"

"We have no problem with you, Fire Lord." one of the men blocking the way started, "It's who you're bringing with you."

Zuko looked back to where Azula was sitting then again at the crowd of protesters.

"The only place for her in the capital is in the dungeons!" After the protester said that a lot of people from the crowd cheered, bringing Azula's attention to the conversation.

"There are new developments that you're not aware of." Zuko tried to explain himself, even though he knew as a Fire Lord he didn't have to, "If you let us pass to the palace peacefully, I'll explain everything."

"What new developments? She killed and burned for your father, she has no place here anymore!"

"I am the Fire Lord and I say she does." Zuko said immediately causing a hundred independent voices from the crowd to start speaking all at once.

"We're the Fire Nation and we say she doesn't!"

People started pushing the guards, getting closer and closer to the royal family they protected. The sounds and the commotion worried Zari slightly, so he just stayed in the vehicle, perfectly still. After a few seconds he moved one of the curtains to check on his mother, but what he saw scared him. The people were rocking her palanquin, banging on the wood and attacking the carriers.

Azula quickly realized things got dangerous and stepped onto the street, facing the now quite angry mob. Yes, they appeared quite mad and unpredictable, but none of them actually dared touch her.

"If you have a problem with me, you're very welcome to step up and-" Azula stopped the second she saw Zari left the palanquin. He was probably scared for her. Probably felt like she should have some back up, rather than face this alone. He thought he could help. Sadly, his actions had the opposite effect.

As soon as Azula looked away from the crowd, the people started throwing ash at her, yelling all kinds of insults, mostly revolving around calling her an _ashmaker_. First it was just a little, enough to ruin her clothes, so she ignored them and tried to reach Zari, but as more and more people joined in ash filled the air and it was hard to see. Azula stumbled and fell.

Something about this brought back Wen's death. Maybe it was the feel of ash, maybe the smell or the heavy breathing, but it was over in a few painful seconds and her mind was back to reality. She finally realized she wasn't the only one they were doing this to, Zari somehow ended up caught in this too. She looked over and saw him coughing covered by ash. Seconds before she could reach him a man came up and shoved the boy down.

The ash was settling, and Zari could clearly see his attacker, but he didn't move. He lied on the street where he was pushed and stared back at the angry crowd, listening to their insults. The man who attacked the prince was still standing over him when Azula used a blast of blue fire to knock him down. She then stood over him and extended her fist, as to finish him, before Zuko stopped her.

The guards had regained control.

 **oooooooooo**

 **128 AG**

When the pirate ship arrived at the safe house, it was already after dawn. Azula laid Zari into one of the beds so he could continue sleeping undisturbed. Her people informed her they weren't followed and asked for further instructions, but she had noting to give them except vacant stares.

Shi was the only one with enough sense to take charge. It wasn't exactly protocol, but they were criminals, so screw protocol. She sent people to guard and secure a parameter around them, while others composed and sent out messages to their members all over the world. Everyone had to be told not to return to that place. They had to be told their _king_ was dead…

Azula didn't think about any of that. She didn't care anymore. She couldn't bring herself to care. The safe house was right near the sea on the sand, so she ran along the beach until she was far enough away that no one could see her. Then she fell to her knees and cried. First a little, then a lot, until her breathing was so uneven she was sure she couldn't produce a single spark if she needed to. She could still taste the smoke.

One thing all the voices in her head were in agreement about was that this was her fault. All of this was her incompetence, he weakness…

And Wen was the only one who could make them shut up. But there was no more Wen. No more Azula and Wen. And with every second that passed it seemed more and more distant, like it was never real to begin with.

Worried, Shi followed after Azula. She expected to find their unofficial queen crying, yes, but not this. She looked completely ruined. Then she suddenly went quiet. Shi watched Azula calmly take off her shoes and place then neatly in the sand. Then button down her jacket, more accurately Wen's jacket, and start gracefully walking into the sea.

Azula had no intention of ever coming back. If Wen was gone, then what was the point of her here in this world without him? Fire took him, so it only made sense for water to take her. It would hurt a bit, yes, but it would shut the voices up, this time for good.

Working against the waves, Azula got into the water up to her waist when she finally heard Shi yelling from behind.

"Don't you dare!" Shi started running through water, "Stop!"

Azula completely ignored her until she felt a hand grab her and pull her back.

"You really think _you_ can stop _me_?" she shook off her hand, but Shi grabbed her arm again, harder this time.

"You can't! Sit here, cry, scream and then come back to us when you're done." Shi spoke, but Azula didn't seem to be listening, "You're a mother! You're a queen!"

But Azula knew she couldn't be. Not like this. She was no good to anyone like this. And the only person that could fix her was… He was…

"Captain Shi, I order you to leave me." Azula tried, still looking into the horizon. The water was so cold she was beginning to lose all feeling in her toes. Good. It was going to be nearly painless.

"Screw your order! You don't know what you want, you're not thinking clearly."

Azula snickered at that, "Oh, how insightful… How in the world did you come to be this wise?"

"Listen, I'm not letting you. I can't tell Zari I let his mom die too."

"His mother died when his father did." Azula said and grabbed Shi's hand, heating it up so much Shi had to let go. She couldn't fight bending, but she was far from giving up.

"Please!" there was something Azula never thought she'd hear Shi say, "I know how you feel! I loved him too! He was my brother and now he's gone, but I'm not letting anyone else die!"

Shi's voice was so desperate one could almost mistake her for the suicidal one. Almost. Azula managed to ignore her and step further, but Shi followed.

"You don't understand anything…"

"I can't believe all of that was leading us here… I can't believe I'll have to tell Zari how his mother was a damn coward!" Shi barely had time to finish the last word before she was punched in the face. She should have been happy not to get incinerated.

Realizing what happened Shi punched Azula right back.

"Fine! Do what you want!" Shi started, "If you think this is how it ends for you… If you think Princess Azula of the Fire Nation is supposed to die completely alone on this stupid beach in the middle of nowhere then go ahead! After surviving terrible parents, the biggest war ever fought, living in captivity and as a fugitive, all without Wen, if you just want to give up then maybe you're not who I thought you were!"

After saying that Shi noticed she'd started crying. Not just for Wen, not just for Azula. For everything. She started running back to the house, looking back only once. Azula was still in the water, unmoving.

Shi then went to check on Zari, who was still sleeping soundly. She sat by him an tried not to think about it all. To imagine tonight didn't happen and it was just another morning. Just another time Zari slept in… And she'd wake him, race him to the kitchens. His parents already waiting there. Wen'd make a dumb joke about her being a kid so she'd punch him. Azula and Zari would laugh…

Footsteps interrupted her fantasy. Azula was at the entrance to Zari's room, still half-soaked form the sea, but alive, unharmed. Shi leapt up to hug her. They hadn't really done that ever before, but she didn't care.

"Thank all the Spirits…" Shi wasn't letting go, so Azula hugged back, "I am so glad you came back."

"How is he?" Azula pulled away to get a better look at Zari.

"He's fine. His breathing's clear, I don't think the smoke got him." Shi spoke as Azula started opening cupboards and getting shirts out to sort them, "What are you doing?"

"Packing."

Wen and Azula had clothes and other necessities ready for them and their son at all their safe houses. It was just a matter of picking out enough for a two-day trip.

"To go where?" Shi caught Azula's hands, but she pulled away and continued what she was doing.

"Capital City. My brother is still the Fire Lord."

"What would you want with that fool? Things are bad now, I get it, but we'll sort it all out."

"I'll take Zari to him."

"You can't be serious!"

"I can't protect him, Shi!" Azula raised her voice, forgetting her son was sleeping, "I can't do it… Not when I'm like this."

Azula was alright for the time being, the hallucinations were gone for now, but she had no idea how long that'll last. If it ever happened again she couldn't guarantee they would stop…

"He should be here with his family. What did those people ever do for him?"

"He's my son, so he's a prince no matter what. When I tell them, they'll keep him safer than I ever could. And I'll be free to go after those people. Avenge Wen."

"That's your plan? I thought you were supposed to be smart… The moment you show your face in that city they'll throw you in the dungeons and take Zari."

"Then I'll escape. It's what I have to do. When I'm done with the people that killed my husband, I'll be able to go back to normal. Then everything'll go back to the way-"

"If you give them Zari, they'll never give him back." Shi sighed, "They'll tell him lies, turn him against you. They'll tell him you left him because you didn't love him…"

"That's not true!" Azula lashed out and Zari changed sides on the bed.

She knew all too well how it felt waking up one morning with your mother gone. Not dead, just gone. Abandoned you for something more important. She knew that made you think there was something wrong with you. Some mistake you made that cost you your mother's love.

"I know that. I know how much you love him. I've seen it, but…" Shi tried, but Azula wasn't listening. She ignored the woman's words and got down to her knees to gently stroke her son's hair. She loved how some of his features reminded her of Wen, but she also loved how he got her jet black, Fire Nation hair.

Her mother did this to her and Azula spent much of her life hating her for it. She couldn't bare the thought of Zari thinking about her in that way. She couldn't prevent him from losing a father, but she'd do everything in her power to keep him from losing his mother.

"I won't give him to them." Azula said quietly and could hear Shi breathe in with relief right away, "We'll stay together, no matter what."

She finally had a few seconds to think her revenge plan through and she decided on using the same technique she used against her family. Grow stronger so you can defend yourself, but be happy to spite them. She never went after her father or her mother, she built a life for herself despite what they thought she could and couldn't become. Yes, she was everything but happy in that moment and telling Zari was going to make things even more painful, but they could get to happy eventually. She knew they would.

After deciding not to go in search of Wen's killers, she felt a sort of peace. Her mind stopped running wild with ideas and plans and all that was left was just a still, somber sadness.

"You can take command if you want, Shi." Azula added, shocking her friend, "I'm not getting Zari caught up in a power struggle."

Despite everything, she was aware she was much weaker now, without her husband. People would be stupid not to take advantage.

"No, I wouldn't dream of… Wen would come back to haunt me." Shi smirked, "Some of us talked about it already, we're all here because of you. We're as much your people as we were Wen's."

After saying that Shi opened the door to the rest of the building, banging the wood a few times to call the rest of their people over. They gathered quickly, at least those who weren't doing something important.

"I've sent the messages." one of the women informed Azula.

"The perimeter around the house is secure. They're not sneaking up on us again, Ma'am." another man from the growing crowd said.

"Are you sure you don't want to lead?" Azula asked Shi, "They did all of this on your orders."

"They did it for their Queen." Shi said before turning to the crowd, "Everyone on board with Azula staying as our leader say _Aye_!"

"Aye!" Every single man and woman joined in all at once.

Azula was always certain a large portion of their people, especially the earliest members, stayed only for Wen and tolerated her because they were a package deal. Spirits, was she glad to be wrong…

As she was processing what staying meant for her, she felt someone pull the cloth of her shirt.

"Mom?" Zari was awake and standing behind her. It made sense, they weren't exactly quiet.

She picked him up into her arms in front of the hundred or so of her people that just pledged themselves to her again.

"Then what are you waiting for?!" she yelled, "Prepare ships, we can't stay here sitting around like airbenders during a comet! Send word to the outposts in Earth Kingdom waters we're coming for a visit…"

"Yes, boss." Shi said, "Come on, you heard her! Go, go, go!"

She shooed all the people out of the room until it was just Zari and Azula again.

"Where're we going?" the boy asked while his mother carried him back to the bed and got under the covers with him.

"Far. Don't you worry, we don't leave for a few hours, you should go back to sleep."

"You'll stay with me?"

"Of course." Azula shut her eyes slowly, lying next to her son, hoping she'd get at least some sleep before she had to lead again.

"Can you tell a story, please?"

"Alright." she opened her eyes and pulled Zari closer, "I know hundreds of stories-"

"No. You have to do it like Daddy, you have to make one up for me." Zari said quietly, remembering the task Wen gave him, "Where is Dad?"

He was supposed to tell him the dragon name he came up with.

"So I have to make one up…" Azula successfully avoided the questions for now, "Once, lived a mother and son who were-"

"Dragons?"

"Yes, love. Beautiful, blue dragons, more powerful than any other creature that ever walked the earth, or flew in the sky or swam in the oceans. If fact, they were so powerful most of the other creatures were jealous and wanted to hurt them. They were chased out of their home and all alone, but the dragon mother would never let anyone hurt her baby dragon, not while she lived. That's why she took him far away and hid in the ocean, where no one could find them."

"Why not?"

"They were _blue_ dragons."

"And the sea is blue!"

"Yes, Zari. The mother and son hid beneath the waves and stayed hidden because that was the only way they could be happy and safe from those who would hurt them."

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"You need to calm down. It's over." Zuko said, after watching his sister pace around the room angrily for about ten minutes, occasionally mumbling something deeply disturbing. They were finally safe at the palace, for now, but they'd have to deal with the fallout from the protest for a long time.

"Over? Are you really that stupid?! They're not going to stop with this. No… This is just the beginning."

"We caught them, they'll be punished for what they did and that's the end of it."

"No…" Azula shook her head, "I'm not done with them! I'll track the rest of them down and I won't stop until there's nothing left of them but ash. Who do they think they are?"

"You have to understand, this country is not closed off anymore. Many of them have at least some foreign ancestry. The war, what was done to the other nations is personal to them."

"That was years ago, they should get over it. I can promise you, they'll regret even lying a finger on Zari."

"I agree, they got a little out of hand, but in the end, no one was hurt."

" _No one was hurt_ …" she mocked his tone, before getting in his face, "Listen, my son is in his room crying his eyes out right now! So don't tell me to calm down, don't tell me no one got hurt! You have no idea how badly he wanted this, to be here, to see all of this… And then he finally does, and he's attacked. I'll burn this palace to the ground before I'd let that happen again!"

Azula finished her piece and took a few steps away from her brother, her face expression softening. She sat down, trying to steady her breathing. Zuko had no idea what to say. Every word that left his mouth seemed to irritate her.

"I'm sorry." he walked closer but didn't dare touch her hand or shoulder. They were supposed to be real brother and sister now, but he still didn't think she'd accept it.

"Don't apologize, it has nothing to do with you. They adore _you_."

"It's because they don't know you. They're living in the past. We'll show them the new you," Zuko kept going, ignoring Azula's snicker, "If you want I can call Aang, he'll explain what you did for all of them."

"I don't want that. I don't even know if we're staying until I talk to Zari."

"I really wish you would." Zuko said, creating a few seconds of painful silence.

"You know, when I was doing Dad's bidding I knew that if we lost I'd have to pay for what I did. I knew I'd be hated and persecuted and I was prepared to live with that. I was never scared of paying the price for what I did. But what I could never imagine back then is that I would have someone I love who'll have to suffer those consequences because of me."

Zuko opened his mouth to contradict her, but she didn't let him, "Don't deny it. My son is suffering because of who I was thirty years ago."

"I could go talk to him. Explain everything to him gently." he suggested, "He has to know this is neither his or your fault."

"No. I'll go." she stood up, "I know he looks up to you for some reason, but you've known him two days. I know how to talk to him."

"Well, I'm here if you need me."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Alright, I know this chapter is a lot…**_

 _ **I needed a bit longer to finish it, because all the scenes are so damn sad. Anyway, had to happen.**_

 _ **I originally thought I'd finish this story with Wen's death, but I have one more in the works. I'll probably take a long time again, because real life is exhausting.**_

 _ **Apologies for any mistakes, I am back to being chronically sleep-deprived.**_

 _ **Kind of a disclaimer, even though I wrote Shi talking to a suicidal Azula the way I did and it ended up working in the story, it features a lot of bad "advice". Every person is different, but Azula checks a few suicide boxes, like mental illness and recent loss of someone close, so I thought it was believable enough. Especially if she thought her hallucinations might not stop ever again. What is a bad idea, though, is insulting, guilt tripping, shaming or punching the person you're trying to help… I realized recently it could be read to wrong way… What I meant to happen was Azula calming down on her own after hearing what Shi has to say. Not all of what she has to say just the good bits helped her.**_

 _ **Since Azula didn't end up getting revenge for Wen's murder, I didn't really explain who killed him here. It's all in my other story, "While The Parents Are Away", but the point is that it's really not important. They way they were living and working it could have been any one of their enemies, known or unknown. It only took one little mistake for everything to crumble. And Azula had to build it back up, alone.**_

 _ **Anyway, every single review is very appreciated :)**_

 _ **Follow the story if you want to be reminded when the last chapter comes.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Well, it's been almost two weeks… I'm super sorry. I'm a bad author.**_

 _ **Things to remember - in the NOW (134 AG) time Zari and Azula got attacked by protesters last chapter.**_

 _ **Also there will be some flashbacks from '2 weeks ago' those are immediately before Azula got involved with the Gaang again.**_

 _ **Anyway, yeah, this is the final chapter, even though I could drag this on, this is how I decided to end it.**_

 _ **Enjoy**_ _ **:)**_

 **oooooooooo**

 **Chapter 12**

 **133 AG**

"I won't even dignify that with an answer…" Azula rolled her eyes at Shi and looked back at the financial statements in front of her. She never answered questions about her and Wen's bedroom activities. Not when he was alive, not now.

"Sorry, just curious." Shi shrugged, putting away a book on Azula's office shelf. Oh boy, that woman was allergic to friendly bonding… "I didn't want to make you sad."

"I am not _sad_."

"You sure about that? You tend to get a bit touchy around the date it happened, Your Royal Toughness." Shi sat down opposite Azula, "Is everything… You know, are you cool?"

A few quiet seconds passed, but Shi stood perfectly still expecting both an answer and proper eye contact.

"I'm _cool_." Azula said, lifting her eyes from her papers. Shi judged her expression for a short time, probably to decide if she believed the response. Then she leaned back in the chair.

"Anyway, I have this for you." she pulled some kind of rolled-up paper from her pocket and unfolded it, "It's a message from the north."

"Is this how you always transport sensitive documents?"

"I'm not your delivery girl, you know..."

"Liking our new position, Admiral Shi of the West? Getting kind of full of ourselves?"

"Oh, shut up, you love me…" Shi smiled, "It's about that Yakone guy, I think the lad said."

"Good, leave it here, I'll get to it when I have time." Azula looked away to write something down, expecting Shi to obey and get out of her office. She did find having one of those was more practical than a throne room.

"The tar-get c-u-r-r-e-n- currently i-n-h-a-b-i…" Shi tried spelling out that last word a couple of times, but with no success in recognizing it.

"Since when can you read?" Azula interrupted, suddenly interested.

"Zari's been teaching me."

"Wen and I begged to teach you for years. You refused us every time."

"What can I say? He just has a way with people." Shi looked down at the paper again, "Anyway, I don't know that last one… I think it's a fancy word."

Azula extended a hand and took the message.

"It says _inhabits_."

"Great. What does that mean?"

" _Lives_. The target currently lives in one of the villages at the edge of the North Pole."

"Then why can't they just say _lives_?!"

Azula ignored her friend and just quickly ran through the text of the message.

"He's married. They just had a son." she turned the paper over, "Noatak."

"Excuse me, Yakone, the bloodbending lunatic, almost defeated the Avatar after we tattled, that guy, he's married?" Shi asked and got a nod, "Looks like I'm the only one that can't find a nice girl to save my life."

"I think we'll stop the surveilling," Azula said, putting away the paper, "Whoever Yakone was, he's done with that. He can't bend, his gang found a new leader… He's no longer a threat. You can tell everyone at the next meeting."

Shi smiled, knowing her queen saw a bit of herself in him. She saw herself in every criminal who managed to find a family despite everything. Standard protocol would be to just kill him, that would eliminate the threat altogether, but Azula was aware someone could think about her the same way. And just like she didn't want Zari being left alone in the world, she didn't want it for this Noatak either.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, followed by Zari peeking in.

"Can I talk to you, Mom?" his voice seemed a little more excited than usual.

"Go ahead, kid. We've just finished." Shi stood up, turning to Azula one more time, "So we're letting him live, that's your final?"

"Yes. May parenthood bring him as much peace as it has brought me." Azula paused, "And may the Spirits help him if he tries clawing his way back to power."

Shi nodded and left the office, but not before ruffling Zari's hair up a bit, getting a smile out of the boy. He did seem to be in an incredibly good mood. At least for a boring workday afternoon.

"Can it wait? Shi's been distracting me since lunch." Azula kept her focus on the book in front of her, periodically moving beads on her abacus.

"Of course." Zari said, looking around the office. After a few silent seconds he started tapping his foot, but quickly stopped. He moved to look at the book shelf, but didn't really pick up anything. Finally, he stood next to his mother and looked at what she was writing over her shoulder.

"You're blocking my light, love." Azula said, rather disinterestedly.

"Uh, sorry." the boy didn't move, but rather put out one hand and lit a small, blue flame.

Azula immediately noticed the light changed from the normal, candle yellow to a light blue she only knew from her bending. She turned her head slowly, to make sure it really was what she thought it was.

"I did it!"

She barely got a glimpse of her son's huge smile before he sprang forward and put his arms around her. Azula was thrilled initially, yes, but a few seconds later she was struck with a kind of shock.

Already?

He was just a little boy, her little boy, and already he'd mastered blue fire almost entirely on his own.

"Finally…" he continued, letting go of her, "I worked on the tips you gave me for months, I read some books, I practiced so much… And a week ago I did it for the first time and then, and then I worked, and I worked so it always comes out blue. And I didn't want to show you until it was just like yours, like a surprise…"

It seemed like Zari spoke without breathing at all. He took the silence as an invitation to show her some more of his new abilities, so he made a few really basic moves with his hands, creating little blue streams of fire.

Azula made an effort to push away the shock and smile, since words weren't really coming to her. Instead of some kind of verbal praise, what came to her first was to join her palms and light a fire. Zari smiled and did the same, bringing the two blue flames close together. His fire was a bit smaller, like a lit candle to a burning torch.

"It's so pretty, isn't it?" Azula asked and Zari nodded.

"I'll keep practicing, until it's as big as yours."

She breathed in audibly, and every candle in the room started burning blue, but only for a few moments until she breathed out.

"You know, Zari, I expect so much of you and you still manage to exceed all my expectations again and again." she stroked his cheek and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Really?"

"Of course. I don't know if you remember me telling you, but I was eleven, so two years older, when my fire went blue."

"But it's not the same, Mom. You discovered it. You had no one to show you." Zari took a seat opposite his mother, "How did you even think of it?"

"It simply happened… I trained heavily, and it changed colors. Scared my tutor to no end." she didn't really want to explain how her father was her tutor and made her train every day until she collapsed.

"Well, you're not the only one in the world anymore." Zari said in a tone meant for teasing, but to Azula it felt more like she wasn't alone anymore. Being the best tends to get lonely and boring. She already knew that their duels when he's older would be a thing for legends.

"Well, I have something to brag about as well." she lifted her book and pointed to a number, "Notice anything?"

"Yeah." Zari said after a few seconds of staring, "The numbers in this row don't add up."

"What?" Azula turned the book back to check.

"The fifth one." the stood up and pointed, "It's off by 224, assuming it's all in the same units."

"I can't believe this." She realized the boy was absolutely right. Two hundred twenty-freaking-four more than it should be. Of course, it took her an abacus and two minutes to be sure. "I just wanted you to notice it's twenty percent down from last month, but this is… How did you notice?"

"I saw the numbers and they didn't look right."

She sometimes forgot how smart he was.

"How about this?" she flipped the page and showed him. He was immeasurably faster at this and less prone to mistakes.

"That's wrong, too. It says 1744, while it should say 1621." Zari took the book and started checking the same row on every page. He said nothing, but shook his head in disbelief, "It's always wrong. First it was off by just a few, then hundreds recently… I could teach this captain how to do this properly."

"No need, love. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's stealing the difference."

"Oh."

"Looks like Captain…" she leaned to read the name, " _Lien_ has some explaining to do when she docks here tomorrow. Thank you, I wouldn't have caught it without you, Zari."

"Why are you doing it on your own?" Zari asked, since he knew his mother had plenty of work without adding accounting to the list.

"Your Mathematics teacher was my accountant, but as you know, I had to reassign him since he had nothing more to teach you."

"I know." Zari frowned, "I liked him."

"I know, love, but he wasn't making himself useful here. He'll be useful to other children we're training." If she was being honest, Azula was a bit out of ideas when it came to Zari's education. He was like a sponge, and any person she found to tutor him, he bested in under a year. "I'll find you a new teacher. And someone different to manage our finances."

"I could do it!" he cut in without missing a beat.

"No."

"Why not? I'm amazing at it, you saw it. I can do it."

"I'm not letting my nine-year-old have a job." she put away the financial statements book and brought all her focus to her son, "Besides, you're too smart to be used as a counting frame and do the same thing over and over every day."

"But other kids have jobs, Mom."

"You're my son. When you're an adult, you can do whatever you want, but now your job is to learn."

It was quiet for a few seconds as Zari was gathering courage to ask his next question.

"Do you expect me to take your place?" he wasn't as worried about asking, as he was worried about hearing her answer.

"I expect you to find something that you're good at and that you enjoy." she smiled slightly to make the tension go away, "But the only way you'll be able to do that is if you learn a lot about very different areas."

"On that note, I was wondering, Mom, if you could…"

"You know how I hate the mumbling."

"I wanted to ask you if you'd finally let me study strategy."

"Absolutely not." Azula looked almost offended by that question, "You have to mature for strategy."

"Maybe if I read only one book and saw how it felt..."

"I'll tell you the same thing my Uncle told me when I came begging with the same question…" she still remembered how mad she was at Iroh, " _Go play, child._ "

"But how could just a little…"

"No. That's the end of that." she said, but then felt sort of bad seeing his little, silent frown, "Strategy requires a certain… Way of looking at the world and at people. Something you shouldn't really start too young, or you'll be unable to turn it off."

"I'm not afraid."

"It's not about fear. Strategy is… How I sent your teacher away, even thought I knew you two bonded during his time here. And how I sometimes have to look people in the eye and say, 'go die for me'."

"I don't like that."

"I don't _like_ it either. You learn to accept it. But not yet." Azula would never force all that onto her son like her dad did to her, "You'll just have to find some other project."

"But what? I've read every book in the entire library already…"

"If you're telling me there is nothing there for you to learn, I-"

"That's not what I'm saying. I just want something new… And I read everything, even the boring romance novels…" Zari huffed.

"Really?"

"Yes! Except for those that the librarian wouldn't give me because they apparently had _inappropriate content_. She said I should be older to read them. I guess they had some strategy in them."

"I bet that's it…" Azula had to hold back a smile the best she could.

"So you see my problem?"

"I see that you're a bit young to pine over how mundane your existence is." Azula wasn't expecting this level of push-back over everything until his teenage years, "Do you know what _mundane_ means?"

"Of course, I do. I spend half my day reading, I know what _pervicacious_ means…"

"Careful now… Let me ask you something, how many books have you written?"

"Well, none." he answered carefully.

"You see, you're never really done. Until I find you a new teacher you can write something. Or learn to draw, or to play an instrument, or-" Azula was about to suggest he finds some kids to play with, but she knew very well he never fit in with them. Not only was he always the smartest one, he also had to stay here in the hideout while all his friends got transferred eventually. After a while he just stopped making friends altogether.

"Or what, Mom?" he interrupted her thoughts.

"You could take this." she pulled a book out of her desk, "It's about the Spirit World. There was a time I thought we could use it for secret meetings, but I never got anywhere with it. Maybe you can…"

"I doubt it if you couldn't." Zari took the book into his hands, satisfied with how heavy it was. This should last him more than a day at least.

"Never say that…" Azula added as he was heading for the door, "Training room 6 in half an hour, blue against blue?"

"It's a deal!"

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

Azula was standing in front of a door for a couple of minutes now. She hated going into a situation without at least a blueprint of a plan. This, heart-to-heart, part of parenting really wasn't her strong suit. With Wen it was all worked out. He would be the consoling parent, while she'd be the one that went out to destroy the source of the child's pain. Now, somehow, she had to be both. Mother and father. Azula and Wen.

She knocked on the door. There was no answer, but she knew Zari was in there alone. She entered and saw him lying on the bed, drawing something with a lot of concentration. At least the crying stopped…

"What are you up to, love?"

Was there a chance he fixed himself? Maybe it wasn't as big of a deal as she made it out to be…

"Sketching a new ship design. I was hoping we could have it built someday, if the ship builder says it'll float."

She closed the door behind her and slowly sat by him on the bed, glancing at his notebook, "I miss home too."

He looked up at her as she stroked his hair.

"When can we go back?"

"Back? We just got here…You've begged to visit the palace ever since you found out you were a prince."

"Well, I don't want to anymore. It was stupid. I don't want to be a prince! I want to go home." he sat up, "Can we, Mom?"

"Yes, it's your decision. But I think you should take a few more days to think about it. And we should talk about what happened today."

Zari stayed silent and looked away.

"Firstly, I want you to know that neither Zuzu or Mai or I are ever going to let anything like that happen to you again. We'll punish those people, increase security…" she paused, "We'll find you someone to train self-defense with."

"I don't need to train more."

"Yes, you do, love. Knowing the moves and using them is not the same thing. You're a good bender, but during the riot, you froze."

"I didn't freeze!" Zari got a look and adjusted his tone, "I just… I didn't want to… I…"

"Tell me."

"That man shoved me, and I was ready to fight back, but I saw how he looked at me. The look in his eyes… He hated me. A man whom I've never met, and I've done nothing to. I don't know why. Same with the rest of them. No one ever looked at me like that."

"I understand. But you have to know one thing…" she cupped his face, "What happened was in no way your fault. It was me. They hate us for some things I did a long time ago."

"What things? You know those people?"

"No, not them personally… Zari, you grew up with our crew, where even people who fought on opposite sides in the war could work together if it was best for everyone. It's like that because your father and I had a zero tolerance on nation related violence from the start. But it's not like that everywhere. Some people have a hard time forgetting." she cracked a smile, "They don't know anything about you, so you'll have to show them who you are. As for me, I don't care what they yell at me-"

"No." Zari interrupted, "I don't want us to stay if they'll treat you like this. When can I decide to go home?"

"What if I told you I want to stay here?"

"Why?"

"Let me tell you something about the war."

"But you don't like talking about it." Zari learned long ago never to ask.

"It's about the end of the war actually. A hundred years of war ending… Sounds good, doesn't it?"

Zari nodded.

"A hundred years. That's three generations of people growing up and dying, knowing nothing but the war. When I was a child that was what they prepared us for every day, so when it ended some of us, a lot of us, had no idea what to do. People from both sides… All we knew was how to fight and we were good, but without that we had noting. We were lost. I had the incredible luck to meet your father and together we figured out all those lost people were turning to crime, becoming pirates and assassins, because they didn't know anything else. So together we gave them something to fight for. And it worked wonderfully. Better than I could have dreamed. But recently, it's gotten harder because there's a new generation now of people who have never seen war and who don't want to be in mortal danger every day of their lives. The world is more connected than ever. Safer. The time of pirate fleets sailing the seas and criminals running entire cities is coming to an end… That's why, I want to move here. We have a future here. At home not so much."

"What are you… Why didn't you-"

"I've known for a few years now. I've seen it coming. The empire, it's strong, it's smart, but it's a product of its time. That time is almost over. The only reason I haven't done anything about it until now it than your dad and I built it together." tears started streaming down Azula's cheeks, shocking Zari, since he, or anyone for that matter, didn't see Azula cry often.

"Mom, don't-"

"Yes, I've had a hard time letting go of everything since it reminded me of Wen." she continued trough the tears, "But I think I'm finally ready to do it. To let it all go and do what's best for you, which is seeing the world, not living in hiding… I'm ready because I remembered Wen didn't die protecting our empire. He died willingly to protect us. You, Zari. Because you are the best thing we ever made together."

Zari moved to hug his mom, since he couldn't bear seeing her cry. It was just him and her against the world until very recently and something told him that no matter how things changed deep down it's still going to be him and her.

"Alright, we'll stay." he said after a while.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be insisting if I didn't think it was the best thing for you right now." she pulled away to look at him, "I can't have you all to myself."

"What will happen to the man who pushed me?" Zari asked all of a sudden.

"You don't have to worry about him… Zuko has him and he'll punish him."

"How?"

"The man assaulted a Prince of the Fire Nation. He has to die." Azula got up from the bed and wiped the few remaining tears from her cheeks, "Would you like to decide how?"

"No." the boy shook his head, "I don't want him to die at all…"

"Zari-"

"If they think you're a…" he paused slightly, since he didn't really want to call her that, even as a direct quote, "murderer, then how is killing one of them going to help? You taught me we should take every imaginable step towards de-escalation before embracing conflict and preparing for war."

Azula opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She hated when she talked sense into herself through Zari. But Past Azula and Zari were absolutely right. De-escalation. Her least favorite word…

"Fine," she sighed, "I worry sometimes you're too smart, love."

She smirked his way to let him know she was back to normal, just before walking out of the room with a clear purpose now.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG – 2 weeks ago**

"You're insane!" Shi yelled, her face getting red, "Why would we do that?! Why would we risk-"

"Admiral Shi, mind your tone!" However loud Shi was, Azula could be twice as threatening without rising her voice all that much. "I explained the situation to you, something I didn't have to do… World leaders have been disappearing. The Avatar, the Fire Lord and the Water Tribe Chiefs, who are your people…"

"Not one of those blockheads ever did anything for me… They are not my people. My people are here. _You_ are my people! Why should we care what happens to those spoiled fools? I say we sit this one out completely."

"The world would go to chaos without any leadership, even you have to understand that." Azula paused, "They have my idiot brother."

Shi didn't even respond to that, she just huffed and turned around to process everything.

"If he dies," Azula continued, "I'll be next in line for the throne. And if I don't take it there will be a civil war over it. Neither one is a good option."

"Doesn't he have a spoiled daughter? Let her take it."

"You mean _my niece_? She's little more than a child. Would you expect Zari to take over if something happened to me?"

"Look, you may be smarter than me, but-"

"Oh, I'm definitely smarter than you!"

"But it's like you don't see that as soon as you show yourself to them, as soon as any of us show ourselves to them, they'll start hunting us down! They won't thank us! They won't care that we saved their asses… They'll never see us as more than just criminals. We're monsters to them!"

"That's where my plan comes in. If we save them and help their children, there is no way they'll still be hostile. If someone helped Zari, I'd-"

"Don't you understand their kids will be just the same?!" Shi slammed her fists on the desk and after not getting a reaction, took the files Azula had on Team Avatar's children, "Who do you think will want to hear our side first?" she opened up the files one by one, "The Perfect Princess, the cop's daughter or the monk?"

"They're children, they're alone… If they have any sense they'll take any help they can get." Azula didn't know how she found herself defending the children of those people, but here she was.

"The oldest one's a United Forces soldier? You know what they do… They kill our people every chance they get! You think he'll go along with helping a pirate with an operation?"

"I'm persuasive and also their only choice."

"You know, Wen would never go along with this plan…"

Azula couldn't believe she just went there, "Well, he's not here to stop me, is he?"

"No! I won't let you bring them here, I-" Shi threw the files back onto the desk.

"I'm not asking you about this. I'm telling you. I don't need your permission..."

"I won't just stand here and watch those privileged little-"

"I know. Thant's why I'm sending you to Ember Island on urgent business. I can't have you interfering with my plans, but I don't want to punish you."

"I'll go. But let me at least take Zari away with me. Please." Shi's tone changed to a softer one, "That way if we're busted, at least he's not here. I'll take a dozen men, take him to our safe house on the island…"

"No, my son stays with me."

"If you're wrong, we could have a similar situation to the night we lost Wen…"

"I'm not wrong."

"Don't do this. You know I love that little boy like he's my own family…"

"That will be all, Admiral." Azula started putting away the files, trying to mark the end of the conversation.

"I understand why you want to do this, but they'll never accept us. Don't trust them. Don't… Don't die like this. Not for one of them."

"Do I have to call the guards?"

And hearing that Shi left.

 **oooooooooo**

 **134 AG**

"I'll only ask one more time!" Zuko was attempting to use his strictest voice, but wasn't really sure it had the desired effect, "Who sent you to attack the Royal Family? Who do you answer to?!"

"I was doing you a favor!" Zari's attacker yelled, pulling at the chains that bound him to a chair, "She's here because she wants your place… I couldn't do nothing while she brings the Fire Nation back fifty years!"

"I hear your concerns-" the Fire Lord started, but was interrupted by the door. Azula stormed into the room with a look that could bring even the bravest men to shut up and pay attention.

"It's you." she immediately recognized the prisoner.

"Azula, you can't hurt him, he-" Zuko tried blocking her way, but failed. Azula made it to where the man was sitting and leaned in, so her face was really close to his.

"I see you're very concerned for the Fire Nation," she started, "That it means a lot to you, well, to me too. But I'm not here to talk about that. My son and I are staying right here, and you'll just have to accept it."

"Well, I don't accept it. And I'm not telling you anything!" he tried to hide how scared he was, but she saw right through it. What person wouldn't be, faced with _the_ Princess Azula?

"I don't need you to talk… At least not here. In a minute, I'm going to tell the guards to untie you and let you go into the city. Then I need you to scurry to whatever hole you scared rats are hiding in and I need you to tell them what happened to you. I need you to tell them His Highness Prince Zari of the Fire Nation, the child you attacked, demanded your release."

The man simply nodded. He looked properly terrified so Azula gave the signal and the guards untied him and led him out of the room.

"Are you sure about this?" Zuko asked when the two of them were alone.

"Zari is. He wanted it like this."

"Is he… Alright?"

Azula sat down into the chair where the prisoner was just moments ago and sighed deeply, "He's taking it better than I am."

"You're still staying?" he asked and she nodded.

"That's good." he added, "Just discuss things like this with me first."

"You said you want me to be your royal advisor. That means you have to discuss your dumb _royal_ decisions with me before you do anything."

"No… If I want your council, I'll-"

"If I do something, Zuzu, I do it right…" she stood up, "I'll need the last ten years of documents to see what you've been up to and an office. I'll be breathing down your neck day and night until we get the Nation into shape."

She smiled, seeing his tortured expression, "I might even enjoy this."

 **oooooooooo**

 _ **Alright… This is it. I almost don't know what to say.**_

 _ **I know the story kind of changed from where it begun, but that's what happens. Again, I hope all the time jumping and the pauses between posting didn't ruin it for you. I kind of hit all the notes I wanted: first part – love story with a lot of crime and action, second part – two people being the perfect team in work and parenthood, third part – broken family but still standing strong**_

 _ **(Fun) Fact – I got the whole idea for 'Azula falls for a pirate and joins the profession' while reading about a real historical figure, Ching Shih, a woman who was without doubt the most powerful pirate of all time and managed to get away with everything without ever being punished. The stories don't really match, the idea was more for what I wanted Adult Azula to become like…**_

 _ **Now if you by any chance want to read more (if you'll allow me some shameless self-advertisement):**_

 _ **-the '2 weeks ago' plotline continues in my story "While The Parents Are Away" where Azula meets the Gaang again, this time they're on the same side to their great amazement**_

 _ **-the plotline of Azula being Zuzu's advisor continues in my story "When We Were Young" with a 5-year jump that brings us war, Zuko and Azula bonding, Zari meeting Ozai and a lot more…**_

 _ **Anyway, a giant THANKS to everyone who took the time to read this, I hope you enjoyed it :)**_

 _ **At the end I'll ask just once more that you remember writing stories like this one takes tens of hours and a review only takes minutes… Whether you already reviewed or were silent tell me what you think, I'm dying to know :) PM if you're shy, I always answer.**_


End file.
